Overview

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Welcome to the Principles of Management course! By the end of this course, you will develop a good understanding of management theory and practice. The course discusses management and its relations to the external environment, and how various factors shape management practices over time. You will be able to understand the social responsibility of managers and how ethics can be institutionalized in organizations. The course delves into a deeper understanding of managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. The course details the fundamental principles of management functions along with highlighting the contemporary developments in management processes. This is a beginner course, intended for learners with a background in all types of organizations. The knowledge you gain from this course will help you in all careers and/or all industries. To succeed in this course, you should have a basic understanding of working in a formal/informal organizational context.

Syllabus

Management Theory and Practice

In this module, you will learn about the nature and purpose of management applicable to all types of organizations and to managers at all organizational levels. The module outlines the evolution of management theories and highlights the emergence of modern management thought. It discusses how management is both a science and an art, and further analyzes the concepts of organizational efficiency and effectiveness. You will gain insights into the various functions of management—planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. The module discusses various approaches to management and their contribution.

Management and Society

In this module, you will learn about the organization and its external environment. The module describes the nature of the pluralistic society and selected environments which will help you understand the impact of technological and innovative environments. The module discusses the social responsibility of managers and puts forward arguments for and against the social involvement of business. You will also be able to understand the nature and importance of ethics in managing and ways to institutionalize ethics and raise ethical standards.

Weekly Summative Assessment: Management Theory and Practice, and Management and Society

This assessment is a graded quiz based on the module covered in this week.

Planning

In this module, you will learn about the essentials of planning and why it is important. The module outlines the concept of management by objectives. You will learn about the strategies, policies, and planning premises. The module also discusses the importance of decision-making. You will also gain insights into global perspectives of managerial planning.

Organizing

In this module, you will learn about the nature of organizing, organizational structure, departmentalization, levels, and types of authority. The module analyzes the first days of leadership. You will gain insights into the concepts of empowerment, centralization, and decentralization. The module also discusses effective ways of organizing and developing organizational culture.

Weekly Summative Assessment: Planning and Organizing

This assessment is a graded quiz based on the module covered in this week.

Staffing

In this module, you will learn about the managerial function of staffing. The module provides an understanding of human resource management, performance appraisal, and career strategy. You will also learn about managing change through the manager and organizational development.

Leading

In this module, you will learn about human factors and motivation theories. You will be able to understand leadership theories, and various leadership styles. The module explains the purpose of communication, communication process, and breakdowns in communication. The module describes the nature of teams, team building, self-managing teams, and virtual teams.

Weekly Summative Assessment: Staffing and Leading

This assessment is a graded quiz based on the module covered in this week.

Controlling

In this module, you will learn about the process of controlling, controlling techniques, ways of effective control, and control techniques. You will also be able to understand productivity, operations management, and total quality management.

Principles of Managerial Functions

In this module, you will learn about the fundamental principles or guides for the managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. You will also gain insights into the conceptual schema of each managerial function. The module outlines the purpose, and nature of each function and its corresponding principles, structure, and control mechanisms.