BCS Commercial Awareness Training | BCS Training

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Introduction
Course Details
Course Content
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A Quick Glance

Accredited by BCS
Learn the Budgeting Process and its intricacies
Evaluate financial cases using the Three Techniques
Access to the Commercial Awareness course-ware and certified tutors
Low Cost of Certification
Certification Recognized by Global Leading Brands

The era of monopolistic organizations is coming to an end while competition is growing. In order to be successful, an organisation needs to collaborate with suppliers, competitors and outsourcing partners. For the businesses to operate successfully new approaches are required to operate through using methods such as restructuring, changing the organisational behaviour, modifying the internal and external boundaries, and deploying performance measuring techniques.

To deal with such problems, business analysts must master their commercial skills to deal with their partners and customers successfully. This course deals with the commercial and organisational knowledge which is expected from professionals undergoing business analysis. Commercial Awareness can be classified into Business Finance and Organisational Behaviour. We at Pentagon Training provide the delegates with a unique opportunity to learn and better their communication skills. This BCS training is covered in a time frame of just 3 days.

Who should take this course

At Pentagon Training, we impart this course to delegates who wish to understand the structure, operation and behaviour of organizations. It is also targeted at those professionals who want to acquire skills to bring about a business change and are involved with the organization as one of the following:

Business Analysts
Program Manager
Project Manager
Solution Architects
Service managers

Prerequisites

The course comes with no prerequisites.

Evaluating A Financial Case Through Three Techniques
Understand what is Costing and Pricing
Cash Flow Forecasting and Budgeting
Financial Accounting Documents and Their Contents
Understand Financial Accounts
Discuss Required Business Performance Ratios
Define Porters Five Forces Framework and Value Chain
Describe Boston Consulting Group’s Matrix

Key Learning Points

Tutor Support

Certificate

Courseware

Course Overview

The course (as shown in the figure) is made up of two parts - Business Finance and Organisational Behaviour. During the schedule of the course – the first part covers Finance for IT Decision Makers and the second covers Business Analysis Techniques and Organisational Behaviour. The Trainers hold a certificate in this course , a two-year training experience or 1 year recognised qualification. The trainer also has to possess a three-year practical experience in the same stream.

Examination:

The candidates are required to sit for the exam after the course. The exam lasts for one hour and is a closed book exam with multiple choice questions. The exam recommends an accredited training from BCS but it is not a requirement. To get certified the candidate must score 65% marks. BCS allows the use of calculators during the exam. No mobile technology will be allowed.

Candidates sitting for an exam must carry identification of some means such as Passport, Driving License, or Student Card. Following the exam, the candidate will be sent an email from BCS asking you to register for your exam. Once registered the candidate can log in and view the exam result from their accounts.

Additional time of 15 minutes is allowed for differently abled candidates or those who have a different native language than the language of the examination.

Course Content

Part 1 – Business Finance

1.Evaluating a Financial Case

Purpose of Building a Financial Case
Techniques used for evaluating a Financial Case
- Payback
  - Calculation
  - Payback and Risk
  - Limitations of Payback
- Discounted Cash Flow /Net Present Value
  - Purpose
  - Calculation
  - The NPV Decision Rule
- Internal Rate of Return
  - How to derive IRR
  - How IRR is used
  - The IRR Decision Rule

2.Budgeting, Costing and Pricing

Budgets and Departmentalised Businesses
- The purpose of budgets
- Reasons for departmentalization
- Cost centres and profit centres
Cash Flow and Cash Management
- Cash flow forecasting
- Use of cash flow in decision making
- Cash flow and profit
Costing and Pricing
- Fixed and Variable costs
- Direct and indirect costs
- Break even and Contribution Analysis

3.Financial Reporting and Analysis

Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet)
- Purpose and Structure
- The nature, purpose and types of Capital
- Current and non-current liabilities
- Current and non-current assets
Income and Expenditure (Income Statement, Profit and Loss Account)
- The importance of Operating Profit
- Revenue (turnover)
- Cost of Sales
- Administrative Expenses
- Profit after Tax
Statement of Cash Flows (Cash Flow Statement)
Ratios (formulae and interpretation)
- Profitability Ratios: Operating Margin and Return on Capital Employed ratios
- Liquidity (Cash Management) Ratios: Current and “Acid Test” ratios
- Gearing (Leverage) Ratio: Debt/Equity Ratio

Part 2 – Organisational Behaviour

1.Market analysis and competitive advantage

Analysing the business domain - Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Analysing the portfolio - Boston Box
Delivering value - Porter’s Value Chain

2.Organisational behaviour and culture

What is organisational behaviour?
Organisational effectiveness and the Balanced Scorecard
Understanding and analysing culture
- Organisational Cultural Types (Deal and Kennedy; Handy)
- International Cultures (Hofstede)
- The Cultural Web

3.Group formation

Groups and group dynamics
Formal and informal groups
- Groups and group tasks
- Characteristics of formal groups
- Homan’s theory of group formation
- Tuckman and Jensen’s theory of group development
- Characteristics of informal groups
- Social networks

4.Principles of organisational structure

Organisation structuring
- Elements of organisation structure
- The six Structure Levels
- The Leavitt Diamond
Types of jobs
- Work specialisation
- Flat and tall hierarchies
- Span of control
Line, staff and functional relationships
Formalisation of rules and procedures
Centralisation v decentralisation
- Advantages
- Disadvantages

5.Operating models

Organisation structures and their characteristics
- Functional
- Divisional – product or service/ geography/ customer
- Matrix
- Team-based – cross functional/ project
Organisational boundaries
- Boundaryless organisations
- Outsourcing
- Offshoring
- Hollow organisation structures
- Modular organisation structures
- Virtual organisations
- Collaborations and strategic alliances

BCS Certificate in Commercial Awareness Enquiry

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Reach us at +44 1344 961530 or info@pentagonit.co.uk for more information.

About Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city located on the south coast of Devon, England. Plymouth is 37 miles south-west of Exeter and 190 miles west south- west of London between river Plym and Tamar's mouths.

Throughout Industrial Revolution, Plymouth grew as commercial shipping port handling imports and passengers from America. Plymouth port also export local minerals like copper, lime, china, clay, tin and arsenic. Neighbouring town Devonport became Royal Naval Shipbuilding and dockyard town. In 1928 Plymouth achieved city status. In mid-2015, the city is home to 262,700 which makes it 30th most populous area in the United Kingdom. Plymouth is the second largest in Southwest after Bristol. Plymouth City Council governs Plymouth, and it is represented by three MP’s. The economy of Plymouth is influenced by seafaring and shipbuilding including ferry links to Spain and Brittany. In Western Europe large operational naval base HMNB Devonport is located. Plymouth is home to Plymouth University.

History

Plymouth had a population of 107,000 in the year 1901. In 1914 the two towns Devonport and Stonehouse were merged with Plymouth. Slum clearance started in Plymouth after World War 1. Slum housing was stopped and replaced by council housing in Swilly and New Prospect. By 1928, new 802 houses were built. In 1920 motor buses started in Plymouth and then got replaced by trams. Due to dockyard in Second World War Plymouth was a prime target for bombing. Around 3754 houses were damaged, and more than 8000 were severely damaged. Later slums were replaced with better flats and houses. Later in the 20th century, various houses were built at South way and Egg Buckland. In Plympton and Plymstock many private houses have been constructed. In the 21st century, Plymouth is flourishing. Drakes Circus shopping was remade in 2006, and now the population of Plymouth is 240,000.

Education

The University of Plymouth has enrolled around 23,155 students as of 2015 and 2016. It has 3000 staff and income of around £160 million. Main courses in it include business, marine biology, marine engineering, shipping and much more. The University of St Mark and St John was also known as Marjon or Marjons have expertise in teacher training. These universities offer various training courses across the country as well as abroad. This city is also home to two other large colleges. City College of Plymouth provides courses from basic to foundation degree for various students. Plymouth College of Art offers courses on media. It is only one of the four independent colleges of art and design in the UK.

There are 71 state primary phase schools in Plymouth and 13 state secondary schools. Plymouth has eight special schools, three selective state grammar schools and independent school.

This city is also home to Royal Naval Engineering College that was opened in 1880 in Keyham. It was renamed Dockyard Technical College in 1959. Later training was shifted to the University of Southampton. Marine Biological Association of UK is also located in Plymouth.