Detailed Course Outline
Course benefits:
This course prepares candidates to sit the examination for the Certificate in The Organisational Context.
This certificate is concerned with the business environment within which organisations have to operate. There are three key elements to the syllabus:
- the nature of organisations, their legal basis, management and structures
- legislation of concern to the IS professional
- business finance.
Candidates are required to have a broad knowledge of each of these three elements and will be expected to demonstrate this knowledge in the examination for this certificate.
This course is aimed at Business Analysts who wish to gain the ISEB Certificate in The Organisational Context. Systems analysts and business users will also benefit from attending the course.
There are no specific pre-requisites for entry to the examination, however candidates should be suitably prepared and possess the appropriate skills and knowledge to fulfil the objectives.
Holders of the ISEB BSD Certificate in Business Organisation should be able to:
- Describe the range and type of business organisations in the UK.
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a range of management structures operated within organisations.
- Describe the work carried out by key functions found within organisations.
- Explain legislative issues affecting information systems.
- Describe the range of activities carried out by financial and management accountants.
- Interpret the contents of the balance sheet and profit and loss account.
- Use investment appraisal, costing and cash flow forecasting techniques.
1. Law and Government
2. Professions and professional bodies
3. Types of organisation
3.1 Private sector organisations
3.2 Public sector organisations
3.3 Not-for-profit organisations
4. Financing a start-up company
4.1 Why capital is needed
4.2 The business plan
4.3 Sources of finance
5. Financial accounting
5.1 The balance sheet
5.2 The profit and loss account
5.3 Financial ratios
5.4 Liquidity
5.5 Gearing
6. Management accounting
6.1 Costing approaches
6.2 Principles of budgeting
6.3 Cash flow forecast
7. Investment Appraisal
7.1 Payback
7.2 Discounted Cash Flow
7.3 Internal Rate of Return
8. Structure and management of organisations
8.1 Organisational models
8.2 Depth of structure
8.3 Centralisation
9. Business Functions
9.1 Sales
9.2 Marketing
9.3 Operations
9.4 Procurement
9.5 Finance
9.6 Human Resources
10. Legal issues
10.1 Anti-discrimination legislation
10.2 Software contracts and liability
10.3 Intellectual property rights
10.4 Data protection, privacy and freedom of information
10.5 Internet issues
10.6 Computer misuse
The course comprises short and focused lecture sessions with exercises to practise appropriate techniques. Discussion of the problems and issues experienced by attendees will be encouraged.
The format for the examination is a one hour written (open book) examination based on a business scenario with 15 minutes reading time. Candidates who are awarded a pass for the examination are awarded the BCS Certificate in The Organisational Context.