Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should:

• understand the management roles involved in providing and maintaining an up-to-date IT service that meets the needs of its users effectively and economically;

• understand the skills necessary to carry out these roles effectively and be capable of exercising some of those skills in a junior capacity;

• be familiar with the basic ideas of management theory and appreciate how those ideas can help the manager in practice.

General description
Management in computing has many different facets. Operations management, project management, and management of IT services are just three of many. The different facets have many features in common, however, such as the need for skills in strategic planning, budgeting, technical audit, and the management of technological change. In this module, a treatment of these common skills and an outline of management theory are used to provide an integrated treatment of the various facets of management in computing.

Aims
The primary aim of this module is to give students an understanding of the differing roles of management in the various aspects of computing and of the skills required to carry out these roles successfully. This understanding should be underpinned by an appreciation of management theory.

Syllabus
1. Organisational Structure and Behaviour - 4 Lectures
The origins of organisational structure. Functional, geographical and product line structures. Bureaucratic v. organic, centralised v. decentralised, etc. Theories of organisational behaviour; power and politics.

2. Human Resource Management - 4 Lectures
Recruitment methods. Job specifications. Training and professional development. Staff appraisal, management by objectives. Motivation and behavioural theories. Legal aspects: contracts of employment, grievance and disciplinary procedures, equal opportunities legislation, outsourcing as it effects staff. New technology agreements.

3. Strategic Planning - 4 Lectures
The idea of the corporate plan and the role of the IT section in producing such a plan. Core business, marketing positioning. SWOT analysis. Management of change. IT systems and business needs. Long term relationships with suppliers. What is an Information Strategy and how does it differ from an IT strategy. The IT company and strategic planning within it. Cost benefit analysis and capital budgeting. Models of the competitive structure of an industry.

4. Management of IT Services - 6 Lectures
Installation management; network and communications management. Dealing with end-user computing. Planning of system evolution. Evaluation, selection and procurement of hardware, software and methods. Systems and security audits. Risk management, disaster and contingency planning. Outsourcing, service level agreements.