Certificate in Business & Commercial Acumen

Level 3

Course Description

This programme is a crash course in the essentials of business that covers all the skills and knowledge a 21st century person needs to be successful. We have developed a unique and powerful methodology to allow participants to assess the commercial viability of any business idea and measure their performance against 9 Key Skills as they complete the programme. The course is 100% online and so fits conveniently around studies and other extra-curricular activities.  It is taught from the perspective of an investor using theory (via our E-Academy), practice (via our Role Simulation) and feedback (via a Personal Profile). In particular, we place a strong emphasis on business astuteness and decision making.

Key Topics areas

The main topics we will focus on are: Marketing, Strategy and Finance & HR. This knowledge will allow participants to use The Three Fundamental Factors (Markets, Competitors and Risk) to quickly assess the commercial success of any business. We will make use of bona fide examples from Dragons’ Den to provide illustrations of the concepts in practice. Hence this is neither a purely theoretical nor a case study course, but rather an analytical course which addresses real problems found in practice. Participants will truly find themselves in the shoes (or rather the chair) of a Dragon!

Learning Outcomes

  1. To understand the importance of business acumen and how to quantify and develop it
  2. To understand what makes a business and a business person successful
  3. Learn a powerful methodology to analyse a business and make good decisions
  4. To understand the link between commerciality and successful leaders & decision makers
  5. To introduce participants to the 54:70 success matrix and the 9 Personal Skills for Success
  6. To reflect on key strengths as well as areas for improvement and plan for further development
  7. To develop proficiency in applying the methodology in the workplace to assess any business (external or internal) and identify opportunities

“An excellent practice of decision making”

Mandy, small business owner

Module 1: Learning the fundamentals of business

e-academy_2Key Learning Outcomes

  • What is a market segment and why segmentation is so important
  • Understanding profitability
  • Focusing on the offering position and the operating position
  • Understanding that strategy and business models need to be constantly reviewed for growth
  • An in depth look at money and finance including: cash cycle, cash flow, financial statements and valuing a business

Module 1 focuses on developing your knowledge of business using a set of E-learning resources developed from teaching at the University of Cambridge.

You will explore and learn through 6 learning topics that cover Segmentation, Marketing, Competitive Position, Finance and HR. As well as these topics we will focus on teaching you the fundamentals of fast strategy. You are given a study log that will track your progress through the E-Academy. The interactive learning topics cover all the key information you will need in the form of questions with instant feedback, videos and case studies. Further reading is offered to those that want to delve deeper into the theory that they have been taught.

Module 2: Measuring and developing your 9 personal skills


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  • Personal Skills Diagnostic with Developmental Opportunities

This module is all about creating a diagnostic that measures and benchmarks your personal skills and business knowledge. You will complete a set of real world interactive simulations where you will analyse business pitches. You will also answer self-reflective questions that focus on your personal skills, both in your daily life and working environment and how you work with other people. As well as skills questions and commercial acumen quizzes that test and measure your knowledge of business.

 

 

DDV2_LV3_ALT_NAV_05Once you have completed the three levels you will unlock your personal skills diagnostic. This is a profile that analyses your skills and knowledge showing your strengths and weaknesses, as well as giving you suggestions for development.

Module 3: Applying the knowledge you've learnt

Outputs
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  • Business Success Toolkits
  • Certificate

This module is all about applying what you’ve learnt in the programme to something you can take forward into your career. Before you begin to use the toolkits you must complete a final exam which will test you one everything you have learnt throughout the programme. Once you receive the correct pass rate you will unlock your toolkits. Your toolkits will allow you to apply the methodology that you have learnt to your own business or business idea. This results in an output that measures the likely success of your business or business idea, highlighting strengths and weaknesses allowing you to spot opportunities and create action plans for improvement moving forward.

 

 

“A great crash course guide to business, useful for anyone”

All you need to do is start...

To gain your Certificate in Business & Commercial Acumen  start today. Enter with potential, finish with a complete skillset, reinforced with vital experience and unique business insights. With the reflective and analytical foundation of our courses you can develop your strengths whilst recognising your weaknesses and plotting your development. Let us help you build the bridge between ambition and success, all you need to do is start. 

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