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Topic outline

    • Time: 13 hours
    • Free Certificate
    In this course, we will explore the basic concept of management. We will investigate what management is and the role managers play in the fulfillment of an organization's objectives. In human society, there has always been a need for some degree of management in order to organize the efforts of individuals for the common (and individual) good. Even in very primitive times, gathering food, protecting against predators, and caring for the young required humans to coordinate and organize in order to achieve common goals.

  • Put simply, the term "management" refers to the coordination of work activities through and with other people to accomplish the goals of an organization. In this unit, you will explore the various functions of management. Management involves not only coordination, but also planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Over the years, the common definition of management has become less specific, as managerial functions have come to include staffing, directing, and reporting. In modern companies, there are fewer layers of management, as today's organizations rely instead on the delegation of responsibilities and authority in order to achieve goals. As a result, today's managers now speak in terms of "leading" or "guiding" people, rather than giving instructions for every action.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.

  • In this unit we will explore in greater detail the role of managers in an organization. We will look at the skills necessary to be successful managers and the styles of management that lead to the accomplishment of an organization's goals. We will also look more closely at the P-O-L-C framework and investigate how managers accomplish these functions.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.

  • In Unit 2, we explored the skills managers need to have to be successful. In this unit, we will look more closely at the personality traits that can lead to effective management and how knowledge of personality, values, and attitudes can help a manager align the needs of the organization with the capabilities of their workforce.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 4 hours.

  • Course Feedback Survey

    Please take a few minutes to give us feedback about this course. We appreciate your feedback, whether you completed the whole course or even just a few resources. Your feedback will help us make our courses better, and we use your feedback each time we make updates to our courses.

    If you come across any urgent problems, email contact@saylor.org.

  • Certificate Final Exam

    Take this exam if you want to earn a free Course Completion Certificate.

    To receive a free Course Completion Certificate, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on this final exam. Your grade for the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you can take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt.

    Once you pass this final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate.