Welcome to BUS603: Managing People

Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.

Course Description

In this graduate-level course, examine people at the individual and group levels by managing diverse teams within an organizational culture, by learning to communicate well to lead teams in a dynamic, volatile, and uncertain business environment, and by incorporating organizational design and human resource management principles.

Course Introduction

There is no more important function in business than managing its people. All the business units depend on the people who work within that department. The productivity of the firm and its ability to compete in today's dynamic business environment hinge entirely on the ability of the people within it to achieve the firm's strategic goals.

In this graduate-level course, we will examine the task of managing people from multiple perspectives. Workers come to the firm with individual attributes and become part of the group dynamic. This course draws from management theory, sociology and psychology, communication theory, leadership theory, and systems theory to provide a comprehensive view of all the factors that affect the management of people. We then apply those theoretical perspectives to practical applications in the business world. Finally, we consider the effect of destructive practices and offer insights into positive practices to manage people.

This course includes the following units:

  • Unit 1: Individual Behavior
  • Unit 2: Motivation
  • Unit 3: Business Communication
  • Unit 4: Managing Human Capital
  • Unit 5: Leadership
  • Unit 6: Managing Groups and Teams
  • Unit 7: Creating a Winning Organizational Culture
  • Unit 8: Organizational Change, Politics, and Power

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Analyze the behaviors of individuals and groups in teams and organizations;
  • Identify factors that affect motivation and employee motivational theories that increase productivity;
  • Develop communication skills to manage diverse groups of people and create effective teams;
  • Manage teams effectively to enhance individual and organizational effectiveness in a complex business environment;
  • Assess ethical decision-making in high-performance organizations in management and leadership situations;
  • Evaluate the effect of a diverse work environment on managerial decision-making and human resource decisions;
  • Evaluate frameworks that support managerial decision-making and improve organizational efficiencies; and
  • Develop strategies for managing people within the organizational culture through times of volatility.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

Course Materials

This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.

Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.

Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score

Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam.

Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.

There are end-of-unit assessments in this course that are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take them as many times as you want until you understand the concepts they cover.

You can see all of these assessments at this link.

Continuing Education Credits

The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 6.6 CEUs.

Tips for Success

BUS603: Managing People is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take 66 hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

  • Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
  • Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

Technical Requirements

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

Download on Google Play Download on the App Store

Fees

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.

Last modified: Friday, October 3, 2025, 12:26 PM