Graduate Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Management

The Graduate Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Management will teach you personal and professional skills that are necessary to be successful in demanding and evolving business environments.

This programme offers a blend of theoretical and practical learning, with an emphasis on applied knowledge and skill. High importance is placed on the development of occupational health and safety management skills (such as communication, presentation, interpersonal and problem solving skills) in addition to the development of specific business knowledge.

You will learn to:

• Critically analyse strategic occupational health and safety issues facing organisations, 
• Develop and implement policies and procedures management,
• Undertake an influential leadership role.

*As of 01 January 2022, SIT2LRN has updated the paper codes to be in line with other Southern Institute of Technology’s qualifications. The paper name and content are the same.

Please ensure that you are selecting the correct papers when you enrol online as the application will now show the new paper codes.

Please see the table below for the old and new codes:

Paper Code	Paper Title	Level	Credits
Old Paper Codes	New Paper Codes (with effect from 2022 Intakes)
Select 15 credits from:
MGT215	MGT608	Organisational Behaviour	6	15
MGT229	MGT617	Occupational Health and Safety Intervention Programme Design and Evaluation	7	15
MGT711	MGT711	Occupational Health and Safety Sustainability Practices	6	15
Compulsory Papers:
MGT227	MGT615	Occupational Health and Safety Management Practice Leadership	6	15
MGT712	MGT712	Workplace Health and Wellbeing Strategies	7	15
MGT313	MGT713	Occupational Health Strategic Management	7	15
MGT314	MGT714	Occupational Safety Strategic Management	7	15
MGT702	MGT702	Research Methodology	7	15
Select 30 credits from:
MGT310	OHS730	Management Research Project (Occupational Health and Safety Management)	7	30
MGT320	OHS731	Internship (Occupational Health and Safety Management)	7	30

Students must complete one of the following two elective papers:

MGT608 Organisational Behaviour (15 credits)

This paper provides students with a strong background and understanding of organisational and motivational theories and the application of these in the development of internal and external environmental analyses for an organisation.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to:

• Analyse the behaviour of individuals and groups in organisations in terms of key factors that influence organisational behaviour.
• Assess the potential effects of organisational-level factors on organisational behaviour.
• Critically evaluate the potential effects of important developments in the external environment on organisational behaviour.
• Analyse organisational behavioural issues in the context of organisational behaviour theories, models and concepts.

MGT617 Occupational Health and Safety Intervention Programme Design and Evaluation (15 credits)

This paper provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and evaluate both occupational health and occupational safety programmes and reporting systems. In this paper students will undertake identification of sources of information to assist in the development and evaluation of intervention programme strategies to reduce the incidence and severity of work-related injury and illness.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to:

• Identify and distinguish sources of occupational health and occupational safety information for the purpose of promoting health and safety.
• Critically analyse occupational health and occupational safety information to identify potential injury and/or health issues.
• Formulate intervention programme strategies to reduce the incidence and severity of injury and/or health issues.
• Evaluate intervention programme actions and outcomes and make recommendations.

MGT615 Occupational Health and Safety Management Practice Leadership (15 credits)

This paper provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be champions for occupational health and occupational safety to enable development of leadership and building of an organisational health and safety culture. This paper will also enable students to develop an understanding of aspects of leadership, leadership style and methods for dealing with leadership problems.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to:

• Assess occupational health and occupational safety best practice for a specific organisation.
• Outline the factors involved in performance management and critically examine strategies to review individual performance.
• Examine the importance of leadership style in managing people in a team environment.
• Critically analyse various contemporary leadership concepts and how they can be implemented to build an organisational health and safety culture.
• Evaluate the application of leadership concepts in the development of a health and safety culture within an organisation.

MGT702 Research Methodology (15 credits)

*Note: This paper must be completed prior completing MGT730 or MGT731 and requires a final weighted grade of B- or higher to pass the paper.

This paper will introduce students to the skills required to complete a research project.  It will cover advanced research skills, various methodologies available to gather and present primary and secondary information and data, and it will take students through the literature review process.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to:

• Select a suitable topic on which to base a research project, or similar piece of written work, and identify any possible ethical issues.
• Source and critically analyse suitable secondary research from a variety of sources both online and in hard copy and select a methodology for gathering primary data.
• Understand the requirements of a ‘literature review’ and how to construct this using an appropriate referencing style.
• Write a proposal to complete a research project, or similar, outlining how all the key elements will be met within a specified timeframe.

MGT712 Workplace Health and Wellbeing Strategies (15 credits)

Student will learn about strategies for developing health and wellbeing programmes within the workplace, analysing the role of leadership and management in the implementation and continuation of health and wellbeing initiatives, and develop metrics to measure the success of health and wellbeing programmes.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to:

• Compare and contrast the cause and effect of health and wellbeing in the workplace and analyse the impact on employees and organisations.
• Critically evaluate the role of leadership and management in the promotion of health and wellbeing strategies within the workplace.
• Establish a business case for creating or improving worker health and wellbeing within organisations.
• Develop health and wellbeing strategies for organisations including metrics to measure success.

MGT713 Occupational Health Strategic Management (15 credits)

This paper aims to provide participants with an understanding of the issues and implications for an organisation regarding occupational health and the ability to critically evaluate strategic management approaches in various contexts within an organisation.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to:

• Critically analyse an organisation’s internal environment with regard to occupational health issues and implications.
• Critically evaluate the research that has influenced approaches to occupational health management.
• Critically evaluate the strategic options in the context of occupational health for a specific organisation.
• Assess factors that influence the effectiveness of strategy implementation.
• Evaluate strategic performance.

MGT714 Occupational Safety Strategic Management (15 credits)

This paper aims to provide participants with an understanding of the issues and implications for an organisation regarding occupational safety and the ability to critically evaluate strategic management approaches in various contexts within an organization.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to:

• Critically analyse an organisation’s internal environment with regard to occupational safety issues and implications.
• Critically evaluate the research that has influenced approaches to occupational safety management.
• Critically evaluate the strategic options in the context of occupational safety for a specific organization.
• Assess factors that influence the effectiveness of strategy implementation.
• Evaluate strategic performance.

Compulsory - Choose either 730 or 731

OHS730 Management Research Project (30 credits)

This paper provides students with an opportunity to conduct advanced research into an aspect of management theory or practice by integrating the body of knowledge learnt in management papers.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to select a current management issue or applied management problem and formulate an appropriate research objective and research question, plan, organise and implement a research project, select and apply appropriate research methodologies, collect, analyse and interpret research data, write a research report to a professional standard, make an oral presentation of the management-related research project and answer relevant questions raised.

You are expected to:
Identify and investigate a current management issue based on personal interest, benefit to an organisation, popular topic or a gap in research you have identified

Approach

• Select a current management issue or applied management problem and formulate an appropriate research objective and research question.
• Select and apply appropriate research methodologies.
• Collect, analyse and interpret research data.
• Write a research report to a professional standard.
• Make a research poster to present your research work
• Undertake an oral defence presenting key points from your research report and answer relevant questions raised.

Total Word Count: Approximately 12,000 words

OHS731 Internship (30 credits)

This paper provides students with an opportunity to become familiar with the micro and macro operating environments of an organization and to apply the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the course of their degree study.  Using knowledge and skills gained in the first two years of the degree, students will be enabled to present a development/problem-solving proposal in an area relevant to the internship organization. Students will also gain reflective skills through the reflection on the internship and how their personal and professional managerial skills have developed and broadened.

On successful completion of this paper, students will be able to, critically evaluate an organisation’s corporate direction, main activities, and identify and evaluate the internal environment of the internship organisation, evaluate the organisation’s operating environment and the role of the internship organisation within the industry, assess and rationalise to all stakeholders significant issues confronting the internship organisation, specifically an aspect of concern or interest to the organisation’s operation or management, conduct and critically evaluate primary research regarding the specific aspect to be stated, distinguish between critical and non-critical factors impacting on the problem/development, evaluate information and make recommendations for specific development/problem, consider and assess issues for implementing recommendations, critically assess the dilemmas, challenges and problems faced, and how these issues were resolved during the internship, critically evaluate how the knowledge and skills acquired during the degree programme were adapted into practical situations.

You are expected to:
Identify and Investigate a current management issue within your internship organisation

Approach

• Find an internship placement (this can be in your existing workplace)
• Collect both primary and secondary information to investigate a significant management issue within the organisation
• Make recommendations based on the findings and present a development/problem solving proposal
• Present the reflections and evaluations of the internship project and answer relevant questions raised.

Total Word Count: Approximately 12,000 words

Click here for detailed assessment information.