Program

The MDPW is an integrated series of three-day sessions of instruction over a 10-month period from September to May. Classes are normally held on the campus of Carleton University.

The program provides instruction in the subjects required to build a sound base of management skills and knowledge. The courses are designed to increase understanding and skills in the following areas:

• Business Strategy
• Business Writing
• Communications
• Financial and Managerial Accounting
• Human Resources Management
• Management and Organizational Behaviour
• Marketing
• Project Management

The program is designed so that participants have an opportunity to transfer classroom learning to the workplace, reflect on the learning and then return to the classroom for more instruction in the subject.

Instructional Methods

The program offers a balance between formal instruction and experiential learning through lectures, case discussions, role-playing and working in groups. Modules are linked so that class members gain an understanding of how the pieces fit into the broader picture.

Participants will complete major workplace based assignments which will apply the theory and skills learned in class to the practical realities of the workplace.

Examples of workplace based assignments would be an analysis of meeting effectiveness, a review of the organization’s strategy and recommendations for a human resources problem.

Class size is limited to 32 participants.

Instructors

Vinita Ambwani, M.B.A., PhD candidate (Carleton) teaches Business Strategy and Marketing. Her research interests include minority and immigrant populations as workers in the host countries. Prior to joining the Sprott School of Business, Ms. Ambwani taught Marketing, Strategy and International Business at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick and worked for several years in industry.

Merridee Bujaki, CA, Ph.D. (Queen’s), is an associate professor of accounting and auditing at the School of Management of the University of Ottawa. Her research deals with corporate disclosures in annual reports, corporate governance disclosures, women in accounting, organizational initiatives to balance work-life responsibilities, the impact of family structure on the careers of managerial and professional women, and the allocation of household tasks among two-earner families.

Nadja Corkum, B.A., M.Ed. (Lehigh), is the President of ACR Communications Inc., an Ottawa firm that has provided writing, editing and graphic design services to the federal government and the private sector since 1987. Her clients’ demands for clear, concise communications have given her a finely tuned sensitivity to the most current practices in business writing. In addition to the MDPW, Nadja also teaches the Fundamentals of Better Writing at Algonquin College Management Centre. Prior to switching to a writing career, Nadja taught school for six years.

Lorraine Dyke, M.B.A., Ph.D. (Queen’s), is the founder and current Director of the Centre for Research and Education on Women and Work, and the Management Development Program for Women. In the Sprott School of Business, she teaches Organizational Behaviour, Interpersonal Skills, Women in Management and Workforce Diversity courses. Her areas of research interest, for which she has received extensive funding, include entrepreneurship, careers, and women in management. Current research topics include career management, women’s careers and workforce diversity.

Natalie Lam, Ph.D. (Berkeley), teaches in the School of Management at the University of Ottawa in the areas of organizational behaviour, human resources management and performance management. She has extensive consulting experience with local and international companies in the area of management training. Her research, which has been published in international journals, includes work on cross-cultural management and women and work.

Linda Schweitzer, Ph.D. (Carleton) currently teaches Communications within the MDPW, in addition to teaching Knowledge Management, Power and Influence, Managing Individuals and Managing Teams at the Sprott School of Business. Her areas of research interest include alternative work arrangements, technology in the workplace, strategic human resources management, organizational behavior, and women in business and society. Linda has also received substantial funding for her current research project on generations and career shifts in the workplace.

Betty Ann Turpin, Ph.D., M.P.A. (Wisconsin) is President of Turpin Consultants, Inc. a Management and Ergonomic consulting business. Over the past 18 years, Betty Ann has worked within the public sector, in academia and with a national research institute. Her company focuses on project management; strategic and program planning; operational reviews; situation scans; performance measurement and evaluation; and R&D.

Notable Features

The first session is an off-campus residential session that will provide opportunities (other than the classroom) for participants to share their experiences.

Management Skills Assessment: All participants will complete a management skills assessment, including input from their peers, supervisors and subordinates. The resulting report will identify strengths and weaknesses and recommend a developmental plan to address skill development.

The goals of the program include:

• providing an intensive, structured educational experience,
• addressing the issues women face in management,
• providing an integrated view of management,
• helping participants improve their management skills,
• enhancing participants’ self-confidence, and
• providing opportunities for participants to network with other women.

Program Content

Business Strategy

The emphasis in this course is on creating an awareness of the roles and interface of all levels of management in the formulation of an organization’s strategy. The process of determining mission, goals and objectives, as well as the social, economic and political constraints which influence strategy will be discussed. Topics will include strategy formulation and implementation, functional business areas and their fit in strategy development, evaluation of the organizations’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, structuring for growth, measurements of strategy evaluation and strategic partnerships.

Business Writing

This course provides participants with an awareness of the writing techniques that today’s business communicators must master. These techniques include ensuring that their writing meets both their communications goals and the needs of their target audiences. In addition, the course offers brief grammar and punctuation reviews; specific techniques for organizing content; and practical tips for simple language. Practice and feedback are significant elements of the course.

Communications

The focus in this course is on learning the elements of effective communication and presentation, understanding the communications process and barriers to communication, applying communication and assertion skills to real and simulated workplace problems, understanding the importance of feedback, and developing strategies for conflict resolution. Specific topics will include effective self-presentation, giving and receiving feedback, the role of self-concept and self-esteem, assertiveness training, conflict resolution and cross-cultural communication.

Financial and Managerial Accounting

This course focuses on developing an understanding of how financial accounting and managerial accounting information influence management decisions. It will cover the financial accounting process and develop an understanding of financial statements and their analysis. The course also examines the use of managerial accounting for performance measurement, planning and control purposes. Managerial accounting tools such as budgeting, variance analysis, and cost-volume-profit analysis are all introduced.

Human Resource Management

This course addresses major issues in human resource management within the context and development of an overall business strategy. Specifically, the topics will include the strategic importance of human resource management, building human resource management into the planning process, and recruiting and selecting the best people available. Monitoring, evaluating, and providing effective feedback to employees on goals and performance will also be discussed.

Management and Organizational Behaviour

This course examines aspects of organizational behaviour which are essential for a thorough understanding of management. It will cover various theories of management and issues in organizational design. The course will concentrate on developing managerial competency through discussion and practice in the areas of group dynamics, motivation, leadership, decision making, creative problem solving, politics, career management, and managing change. The issues facing women as managers will be explored.

Marketing

This course introduces the principles of marketing in government, large and small private business, and the non-profit sector; examining issues such as the marketing environment, the central role of the consumer or customer, market research, product and pricing, promotion and distribution. Topics will include marketing as a functional area in organizations, competition, government regulations and influence, socio-cultural issues, consumer behaviour, segmentation, sources of information used in developing a marketing strategy, decision-making, new product and service development, pricing, packaging, promotion, advertising and distribution channels.

Project Management

The purpose of this course is to introduce the fundamentals of planning and managing a project. The focus is on understanding the terms and concepts used in project management and applying the principles and techniques. Concepts, issues, and tools for each of the major project phases (planning, implementing, and closing) of a project are discussed.

Credit for the Management Development Program for Women: As a Graduate, What Do I Do Now?

Credit for the Management Development Program for Women: As a Graduate, What Do I Do Now? Graduates of the Management Development Program for Women (MDPW) at Carleton University can apply for advanced standing for 2 undergraduate credits (4 one-term courses). These credits are assigned on an individual basis.

To pursue credit, send a written request for a “Recommendation for Credit” letter to the CREWW office. CREWW will calculate your weighted grade average and prepare the letter for approval by the Chair of Undergraduate Programs at the Sprott School of Business. The completed documents will be mailed to you.

Once you receive these documents your next action will depend upon your current academic status at Carleton University.

• If you are not currently enrolled in a degree granting program at Carleton give a copy of the documents provided by CREWW to the Admissions department when you apply.
• If you are actively enrolled in a degree granting program at Carleton take the documents provided by CREWW to the Admissions department where you must complete an “ACTION REQUEST FORM” – submit all documents together.
• If you were previously enrolled in a degree granting program at Carleton but are not actively participating at this time take the documents provided by CREWW to the Admissions department where you must complete an “APPLICATION FOR READMISSION”– submit all documents together, or if you submit the application on line be certain to tell Admissions that you have done so when you hand in the documents from CREWW.

If you achieved a minimum weighted C average overall, the credits will be granted as 0.5 for BUSI 1XXX, and 1.5 for BUSI 2XXX. If you achieved a minimum weighted C average overall, and a minimum weighted C average in each of Management and Organizational Behaviour, Marketing and Business Strategy, the credits will be granted as half credits for each of BUSI 1XXX, BUSI 2101, BUSI 2204 and BUSI 2XXX.

For further information please contact the CREWW administrator sprott.carleton.ca/mdpw.