The Programme comprises of four key ‘courses’; there are three (3) compulsory/mandatory courses of study plus one (1) option/elective course to choose, as follows:-

Compulsory/Mandatory

• Business Entrepreneurship & Organisation
• Business Management & Administration 
• Advanced Management & Administration Theory & Practice

PLUS one* of:

• International Business & Trade

• Marketing & Sales Management

• Project Leadership & Management**

• Events Management Management**

• Logistics, Materials & Supply Chain Management**

* two or more of the elective courses may be studied if preferred - please ask the College for details.

** These courses eacg include a special Module on starting-up a Project Management / Events Management / Logistics company or business.

Summarised details of each course comprising the Honours Diploma:

BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURSHIP & ORGANISATION

• Defining what a business is and what an entrepreneur is; traits and attributes of successful entrepreneurs; products, goods and services; the aim of profit.
• Deciding on the ‘venture’ - coming up with and developing the idea for a new business.
• The importance of a sound, well-prepared business plan, and what it should cover.
• Raising the capital, sources of capital, types of capital, the implications for control and ownership.
• Starting or ‘taking over’ a business; factors to consider and matters to plan for; running a franchise.
• The business environment, goods, services, products, their features.
• Types of business ownership: sole ownership, partnership firms, limited liability companies; the advantages and disadvantages of each type; personal liability, treatment and distribution of profits.
• Business location: factors to be considered; renting premises; layout of the premises; services needed, machines, furniture, furnishings.
• Consumers and clients, private and professional buyers, the effects of competition.
• Ordering and storing goods and materials, stock control and management, things to consider.
• Considerations in allowing credit, managing credit and setting terms; giving and receiving discounts, types of discounts and their purposes.
• Selling techniques and transactions, organising and conducting sales demonstrations.
• Advertising, media, sales promotion, public relations.
• Employing and training staff, supervision and control; matters concerning salaries and/or wages.
• The delegation of responsibility, effects of business expansion, business structure.
• Forecasting and looking ahead, forecasting and budgets.
• Considerations of fixed costs and overheads, managing and overseeing the business’s working capital.
• Financial matters: sales documents, checking and paying bills, bank accounts, bookkeeping, accounting; issues about insurance.
• The principles of economics; matters relating to transport, communications; import and export.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION

• Capital and the financing of businesses, sources of capital, share issues.
• Working capital, cash and funds flow; revenue, income, expenditure, overheads.
• Business units: sole-proprietors, partnership firms, limited liability companies.
• Board of Directors, formation, responsibilities and duties.
• Business organisation; structure, reporting, spans of control.
• Business environment, trading enterprises; factors in business location.
• Planning and forecasting in business, the business plan; starting or taking over a business.
• Budgeting and budgetary control, the master budget and sub-budgets.
• Management of personnel: recruiting, selecting, inducting, training, controlling, remunerating.
• Motivation, human resources; health and safety in the workplace, communication, job analysis.
• Principles of selling, sales and marketing management, market research, sales promotion.
• Prices and pricing policy.
• Office management, office organisation, set-up, equipment, data and information.
• Production management, production methods, materials handling.
• Credit, credit control, credit limits and bad debts; discounts: trade, quantity, others.
• Stock and inventory control, stocktaking.
• Purchasing and resourcing, suppliers. 
• Financial accounting, books of account, interpretation, accounting ratios.

ADVANCED MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION THEORY & PRACTICE

• The evolution of management theory, principles of management: the classical and early theorists; Fayol, Weber, Taylor, Mayo, scientific management, authority, discipline, modern developments.
• Organisational theory: objectives, categories, ownership, environmental factors and interaction.
• Open and closed systems theory.
• Coordination, cooperation, structure, control.
• Communication and communication theories and channels.
• Organisational structures, planning, growth and development, organisation charts.
• Systems and systems diagrams. 
• Duties and responsibilities of executives, delegation, responsibility.
• Mission, vision, values, MBWA.
• Motivational theory: human relations, social psychology; self-realisation, motivation-hygiene, expectancy theory. 
• The theories of Argyis, Maslow, McGregor, Likert, Herzberg, Vroom, Handy; intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
• Leadership theory: traits, style, contingency; theorists. 
• Building and developing workgroups, group behaviour, norms, cohesiveness.
• Managing change, creating and managing culture; Moss Kanter, learning organizations and entrepreneurship.
• Strategic management; the theories of Fayol, Chandler, Andrews, Ansoff, BCG, Porter, SWOT.
• Environmental and competitive barriers to entry, industrial competitiveness.
• Corporate objectives, policies, business ethics, social responsibilities.

PLUS ONE** of:

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS & TRADE

• The reasons for conducting overseas business and trade; defining import and export; the aims and risks.
• International sales, production and make or buy decisions.
• International trade for smaller and medium sized companies; considering acquisitions and mergers. 
• Economic development, international companies and strategy.  
• Marketing: the marketing mix, marketing planning, market segmentation; product fit, promotions, SMART, SWOT. 
• Market research, social, political, legal and economic factors; competition analysis.
• Macro factors, communication and cultural factors. 
• Barriers to entry, import controls, licences; quality and safety; packaging and labelling.
• Routes to market; direct and indirect marketing: trading houses, agents, joint ventures, partners, mergers and acquisitions.  
• Business finance; fixed and variable costs, economies of scale, budgets, break-even analysis, accounting and financial checks and ratios.
• Export costing, pricing and global sales, incoterms.
• Contracts, the offer, terms and conditions, acceptance, breaches of contracts.
• Transport and logistics: the role of freight forwarders; containerisation, insurance, customs brokers. 
• Customs documentation and procedures, tariffs and bonded warehousing. 
• The bill of lading; types, variations and features.
• Methods of payment, bills of exchange, currency and exchange rates, letters of credit, pricing; awareness of fraud.
• Financing international trade; short, medium, long term options; forfait, factoring, leasing, premiums.
• Suppliers, partners, support organisations, export management companies, chambers of commerce.
• The export marketing plan, format and content, its importance.

OR

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Project management, the people involved, project objectives; the time/cost/quality relationship.
• Project managers, skills, aptitudes and personal qualities and traits. 
• Customer project specifications; the project scope and the use of checklists.
• Project design, production and development elements; using contractors; project design checklists.
• Project team management and organisation: matrix, functional and hybrid structures.
• Organising the project team, providing support, ensuring cooperation, communication.
• Analysing and planning project tasks, work breakdown, designing work code systems; big projects.
• Project costs: fixed, variable, direct and indirect costs.
• Accuracy and estimation of costs; the costing format, profit vulnerability.  
• Project planning; bar charts, critical path networks, diagrams, milestones, resource constraints, timescales.
• Resource scheduling, computer systems and network analysis.
• Monitoring projects; preparing reports, assessing and managing risks.  
• Project implementation, authority for moving ahead.
• Project design standards and procedures, control schedules, actually getting started.
• Preparing, planning and producing work instructions.
• Specifying requirements, purchasing and supplier selection.
• Ordering and expiditing, order documentation, shipping, quality control.
• Cost management and budgets; materials, equipment and services.
• Project performance analysis, profitability matters.
• Changes during projects, agreeing and authorizing changes, design freeze, emergency changes.
• Managing progress, schedule updates, control systems, corrections.
• Finishing projects and the official closure of project work.

 OR

 MARKETING & SALES MANAGEMENT

• The principles of selling and salesmanship - achieving sales, income, profit.
• Internal sales personnel and commercial travelling salespeople.
• The methods of selling: creating interest, giving demonstrations, making sales transactions.
• Types and categories of consumers, commercial and corporate buyers.
• Making ongoing sales, building customer relationships, generating and following up sales leads. 
• The principles of management: recruiting, training, remunerating, controlling and motivating sales personnel.
• Building effective sales teams, setting and monitoring sales targets, deciding upon sales areas.
• The organisation and control of sales teams, and the special issues regarding travelling salesmen.
• Market research: consumer research, market surveys, advertising research; their meanings, importance and the activities involved.
• Reasons for undertaking and the types of test marketing.
• Techniques and importance of sales forecasting.
• Planning, budgeting, budgetary control in sales and marketing, variances and their implications.
• Segmentation of markets, the role of brands, psychology in sales and marketing.
• Channels of distribution; which to choose, advantages and disadvantages; wholesale, retail, franchise. 
• Credit and setting terms, credit limits, control over credit customers.
• The types and purposes of different discounts allowed: trade, quantity, cash, others.
• Sales forecasting and planning in connection with the product life cycle (PLC). 
• Pricing strategies, factors in setting prices, the objectives of pricing.
• Direct and indirect advertising and publicity, media and their importance, sales promotion, roles and management of public relations; sales letters & literature, direct marketing.
• The Internet as a marketing and sales tool; website design, social media.
• The sales office, records, graphs, statistics, collection and analysis of data, computerised sales data.
• Export selling, international marketing, customs duties, researching overseas markets, expansion of markets and the customer-base.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE FEE FOR THIS HONOURS GROUP DIPLOMA PROGRAMME

 Your CIC Fee includes:-

• Your enrolment/registration with Cambridge International College, and your own high-quality, professionally produced and illustrated comprehensive International CIC Core Study Publications for each of the four (4) ‘courses’ of study.
• CIC’s detailed, professional ‘Study & Training Guide’ with full instructions on how to study to achieve success and gain top results.  The Guide includes detailed advice on how to answer Tests and Examinations.
• Training Tests, Questions and Exercises (which can be used as ‘Past Papers/Questions’), and Recommended Answers for most of them.
• An Examination** set for each of the 4 core courses; each Examination is sat under Invigilation/Supervision in your own area - full details, guidance and explanation of how your Examinations will be arranged and how Invigilation is conducted will be provided when you register.  Note, CIC arranges Examinations in over a hundred countries worldwide for thousands of Members every year; it is a flexible, straightforward process and will be arranged when YOU are ready to write your Examination. **An Assignment Option is available instead of an Exam for the ‘Covid-19’ (Corona) virus period.
• A prestigious Cambridge International College Diploma on successful completion of Study & Training and on passing the Examination for EACH of the 4 core courses, PLUS the International Honours Group Diploma when all 4 courses have been completed - this is a total of 5 awards - 4 individual Diplomas plus the Honours Diploma.
• Your personal page on CIC’s Member Services website with access to results, despatch details, advice and guidance, and more: www.cambridgeinternationalcollege.co.uk
• Regular information and news including: Newsletters with details of special offers and new Programs and much more; and Competition Forms; by email and post.
• Everything needed for your Study & Training success is included in the CIC Fee.

Additionally:

• Further Study and Training Advice, and Assistance is available before, during and after CIC Study & Training; Members may ask CIC’s team of experienced Consultants for advice on further study and Programmes to improve career prospects and advancement.
• CIC’s experienced and helpful staff can assist with numerous special requests, such as reference/recommendation letters and transcripts, and more, by post and email.

• Business Administration EBA: Executive Business Administration 3 years (flexible)
• Corporate Strategy, Policy & Planning Mastery of Management Graduate Diploma One year (flexible)
• Commerce & Administration (BCA) Baccalaureate 2 years (flexible)
• International Marketing Mastery of Management Graduate Diploma One year (flexible)
• Marketing Administration Honours (Higher) Diploma 21 months (flexible)

This Honours Diploma Programme is the path to career success and good positions for a very wide range of business, management and administration posts.  Having studied a wide range of business, management, administration, organisational, international business and advanced management subjects including motivation, leadership and strategy, production, marketing - and more - the knowledge and ability to become a successful manager, administrator, executive and leader in business has been provided; CIC Members who have completed this and other Honours Diplomas have gained high career success, recognition, promotion and better employment, improved salaries and benefits - proof of how professional training can bring career success.  

The Programme also provides access to higher studies in business and management and international studies and development whether in general business and management, one of the more specific areas covered by the programme, or in different specialisation areas, including CIC’s ABA, Baccalaureate and Executive Business Administration programmes, and to degree and other studies with CIC and other institutions worldwide.

There is a wide range of options for further study - see the "Related Courses" section for suggestions - which include other Honours Diplomas, ABA & Baccalaureate Programmes, and the 'Double Award' EBA & BBA Bachelor degree Programme.  You are welcome to ask the College for advice, and of course you can see details of these Programmes on this website.