Online Management Certificate Course
There are many ways to define or describe management. Personal perceptions and attitudes tend to greatly influence the way anyone sees management. All management however involves dealing with and finding solutions to problems in a business, workplace or similar situation.
- An Ideal Adjunct to any other qualification
- If you are qualified and experienced in any industry, but lack the knowledge of management to move your career to the next stage -this may be the course for you.
The following problems are basic and common to most, if not all, management situations:
- Goals - establishing, implementing and reviewing goals or objectives.
- Policies - setting policies that will support, or help the organisation, work towards achieving set goals.
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Organisation - setting up an arrangement or organisation of resources that will work to achieve the predetermined goals.
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Resources - acquiring, maintaining and developing physical and human resources to support the organisation in it's achievement of the goals.
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Planning Activities - developing long term and short term plans, selecting and incorporating the appropriate courses of action to achieve the goals.
Course Structure
This course is made of up 6 modules: two core modules and 4 elective modules.
To obtain the Certificate in Management, you must successfully complete all assignments and pass an exam in each of six modules.
CORE MODULES (you must study these):
Management
Project management
ELECTIVE MODULES (Choose 4 from the list below)
Motivation
Supervision 1
Industrial Psychology
Conflict management
Book Keeping 1
Book Keeping 2
Business Planning
Industrial Psychology
WORKING IN MANAGEMENT
Managers are needed in every workplace.
In a small workplace, a manager may need to manage everything from manpower and equipment to finance, marketing and production.
In large workplaces, a hierarchy of managers will usually be developed where upper level managers manage lower level managers. Here a workplace may be broken up into sections or departments with different managers each having different areas of responsibility. For example: A marketing manager may work under the direction of a general manager, and he may control a series of lower level managers such as a Sales Manager and an Advertising/PR manager.
Managers are employed in small and big business, in non profit and charity organisations, and in government departments.
In small business, top level managers are often the business owners.
Opportunities
Every business with more than one employee requires a manager of sorts (even with only one employee, the employer will need to take on a managerial role, they may just not use the title of manager). Therefore, there is copious opportunities for a manager. Depending on the industry you specialise in, there will be scope to move into a managerial position in some capacity. Even within management roles there is capacity to advance into a higher level managerial role.
Wages for a manager are generally relatively well paid. Different industries, and different organisations will offer different salaries for their managers, but there is potential to earn a substantial income.
Risks and challenges
With a management role comes responsibility. You will be responsible for managing your area of the work force, and therefore will be responsible for the outcomes. You will need to be someone who can handle the idea that not everyone will like you at all times, and at times you may need to reprimand your team. You will also need to be able to direct and lead your team, which can be challenging at times.
How to become a Manager
Many managers evolve into their jobs, starting as an employee in a business and being promoted; or starting up a small business of their own that grows so large that they simply need to become a manager.
Some people will study and pass a diploma or degree in management, and perhaps never go on to be a manager; simply because their natural attributes are not right for that role. Others who undertake relatively little formal training in management may become very successful managers; harnessing attributes that come naturally to them.
It is a manager’s personality and personal attributes that distinguish a good manager from a mediocre or bad manager.
Certain management skills can be learned and developed (for example motivation and leadership skills), some people will be more suited to a managerial role than others.
Managers may find their way into a management job either of two ways:
1. Starting with the organisation in a low level job, and being promoted through the organisation.
OR
2. Being employed into a management position from outside the organisation
In other instances people may find themselves managing other staff due to a natural inclination to manage people, rather than having a defined managerial role.
Related jobs
- Event Manager
- Hotel Manager
- Bed and Breakfast Manager
- Hospitality Manager
- Small Business Owner
- Restaurateur
- IT Manager
- Leisure/Health Centre Manager
- Farm Manager
- Nursery Manager
Core Module Outlines
Management
There are 6 lessons as follows:
- Introduction & Organizational Structures
- Management Theories & Procedures
- Problem Solving & Decision Making
- Management Styles & External Influences
- Employing People & Interview Skills
- Staff Management
A great manager can turn improve productivity, keep staff working happily and effectively, and dramatically increase profitability.
This course outlines management theories and procedures, problem solving and decision making tactics, staff management, and more. Developed by professionals with a substantial amount of industry experience, it is the perfect foundation for a successful career. Ensure your management style is grounded in the 'tried and true.'
Project Management
There are nine lessons as follows:
- Introduction
Understanding what project management is, and what its applications might be.
- Project Identification
Identification and defining projects which need management.
- Project Planning
Developing a strategy and framework for the plan.
- Project Implementation
Managers duties during implementation, developing a Preparation Control Chart,
Regulating implementation.
- Project Completion & Evaluation
Dangers in this stage, Steps in Project completion, Declaring a project sustainable,
Developing an evaluation method.
- Technical Project Management Skills
Preparing a proposal, budget control/management, steps in drawing up a
post project appraisal.
- Leadership Skills
Styles of leadership, leadership principles and methods.
- Improving Key Personnel Skills
Listening skills, Negotiation skills, Conflict management.
- Major Assignment
Developing full documentation for a project.
UNDERSTANDING MANAGEMENT CONTROL
The following is an extract from an ebook by our staff. See our bookshop at www.acsebook.com
Some managers lose control because the scope of activities they are attempting to control simply grows too much, their attention spreads too thinly, and they lose focus.
Managers need to understand their own limitations, and when things grow beyond their capacity for control; they must either delegate some of their responsibilities to others; or reduce the scope of activity back to a level which can be controlled.
Urgent work is not necessarily the same as important work. Sometimes it can be more appropriate to abort a time sensitive job than to finish it at the expense of a more important job. A manager needs to be aware of priorities that are essential for the running of their organization and have control over that. A manager must never lose focus of what the overall aim of their organization or department is.
Types of Control
There are different types of control that can be implemented by a manager, such as pre-event, current and post-event. The type of control you use may vary. In fact many managers may try to control events and situations throughout the process. When working on a project, for example, a manager may prepare what areas they seek to control, through quality assurance procedures, planning, analysis of the problem and so on. Once these are developed, the manager may then implement control procedures throughout the project to ensure that the project remains on check. Then at the end of the project, they may review what happened and consider areas that they may have improved on, areas requiring greater control and so on.
Planning
Keeping your focus on what your overall aim for the organisation or department is obviously important. So when making any plans, it is important to ensure that they are working towards your overall goal.
Within an organisation you may have a range of plans, such as an organisational strategic plan to achieve the goals of the organisation as a whole. You may also have operational plans on how the organisation operates and functions. You may also have strategic and operational plans for your department or part of the organisation.
Plans can be short term and long term.
Within any organisation there may be a range of plans operating. For example, there may be a marketing strategy plan. A long term marketing plan. A short term marketing plan. There may be an overall plan drawing all plans within the organisation together. Planning can be complete, but should always focus on the overall strategy of the organisation and be effective.
It is no good planning and then never carrying out the actions of the plan or reviewing the plans.
Coordination
There can be a lot to organise within any department, firm or organisation, so coordination is essential. If the marketing department plans a big push of media advertising offering a 10% discount on their goods, but does not tell the sales department who handle the sales of goods or the website staff to amend the website, it will look as though the firm is incompetent, so it is important to ensure that everyone who needs to be aware of things is aware.
It is therefore important to keep good lines of communication open between different staff, different departments, different organisations who need to know what is going on within the area you manage.
Managing Conflict
Conflict is often viewed as destructive.
Conflict is destructive when it:
- diverts energy away from important work or other issues
- destroys morale
- polarises groups
- deepens differences in values
- produces violence
Where conflict is destructive within a team or organisation, it can cause difficulties, such as low staff morale, high staff turnover, disruption within teams and so on.
If there is negative conflict, this may be something that you need to tackle by hold team meetings, team building exercises, speaking to the people involved in the conflict, so trying to find out what is going on and what solutions you can come up with.
But conflict can also be a constructive force. Conflict is constructive when it:
- opens up and clarifies important issues and helps solve them
- increases involvement of individuals in important issues
- makes communication more authentic
- releases pent-up emotion, stress or anxiety
- helps build group cohesiveness
- helps individual growth, provided there is reflection on the conflict
Conflict can increase creativity and ideas. If there is a productive conflict between team members, they may have different ideas and suggestions which you can work on and perhaps come to an even better idea or alternative that staff can work towards together. Conflict can lead to an increase in team cohesiveness. As with the four stages of team building, forming, storming, norming and performing. Conflict can occur storming stage and lead the group to go back and reform or lead the group to go on and perform.
As a manager it is important to recognise that there is conflict within your team or department and consider ways to deal with it.
How do you deal with conflict? In many conflict situations we can choose how to behave and how to respond. It is useful to be aware of different models of conflict handling for when you come into contact with conflict. When handling a conflict, the main styles are –
- competing
- accommodating
- soothing
- avoiding
- compromising
- joint problem solving
Competing is assertive and uncooperative. It involves an individual pursuing their own concerns at another person’s expense. This is the opposite of accommodation, ensuring that your own needs are met, no matter what the cost. This is a win-lose approach, which is useful if there is a tight deadline or your relationship with the other party is not important. This is a power oriented mode in which one uses whatever power seems appropriate to win one’s own position – one’s ability to argue, one’s rank, or economic sanctions. Competing might mean standing up for your rights, defending a position which you believe is correct, or simply trying to win.
Soothing is unassertive and cooperative; often tantamount to giving in. A soothing individual attempts to preserve the relationship at all costs, emphasising areas of agreement and failing to confront thorny issues.
Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative. It is useful if there is not a pressing need to resolve differences in the present or the future. The individuals concerned may be indifferent to the needs of the other party and their issues or ignore them completely. This is not a useful long-term management strategy, as it does not lead to a solution generally. The individual does not immediately pursue his/her own concerns or those of the other person. He/she does not address the conflict. Avoiding might take the form of diplomatically sidestepping the issue, postponing the issue till a later/better time or simply withdrawing from a threatening position.
Compromising is intermediate between assertiveness and cooperativeness. It has some assertiveness and some cooperation. The objective is to find expedient, mutually acceptable solutions which partially satisfy both parties, it falls in the middle ground between competing and accommodating. It addresses issues more directly than avoiding, but it doesn't explore it in as much depth as in joint problem solving. Compromising might mean "splitting the difference", exchanging concessions, or speaking a quick middle ground position. Or giving up some ground to gain ground elsewhere. With this situation, with some you win, with some you lose. This is a useful conflict management strategy if there is a limited time available, but if there is more time to explore issues more fully it is not necessarily useful. A compromise is also useful when one party cannot force their solution on to the other party.
Accommodating
Accommodation is a non-assertive and cooperative method. With accommodation, the other person’s needs can be met, but usually at the expense of your own. This is a useful conflict management strategy if the individual does not care about the issue nor has little power in the situation. Also, sometimes, by letting the other party have their way occasionally, it can help to preserve or build a relationship. However, being too accommodating can weaken the individual’s position.
Joint Problem Solving or Collaboration is both assertive and cooperative - the opposite of avoiding. It involves an attempt to work with the other person to find some mutually satisfying solution. It means digging into an issue to identify the underlying concerns of the two individuals and to find an alternative which meets both sets of concerns. Joint problem solving might take the form of exploring a disagreement, in order to learn from each other’s insights. This requires some skill and effort and assumes a positive intent and seeing things from all sides with detail. The idea is to acknowledge and accept the differences of others, and explore strategies and solutions that meet the needs and concerns of all parties.
Discipline
We have already talked about disciplinary action. A way to maintain control and deal with conflict is through disciplinary procedures. If a member of staff is showing a poor performance, we can jump immediately to the disciplinary route. Perhaps a verbal warning, a written warning and so on. BUT it is also useful to consider that perhaps their poor performance is a result of the poor performance of the team, which you are directly in charge of. A poorly performing team can result in demotivation and poor performance in staff, so it is important to be aware of this when using discipline as a way to control your staff’s performance. Always consider if there are issues within the team and how it is performing as a whole before jumping onto the disciplinary band wagon (if appropriate). Obviously there will be some situations where disciplinary action is obviously the required course of action, but if it is not obvious, then consider why and if other factors are involved.
How much Control?
So always consider how much control you need. You are running the team, you are the manager, so the final responsibility will stop with you. So you do need to lead and keep control of the team, the organisation, the department you are in charge in. But being in control does not mean you have to do everything or that you do not need advice or support. So ensure that you are a good, balanced manager.
With all of the above, it can be hard to organise and plan and maintain control over an organisation, but the main point is to maintain focus on what you are trying to do. If you always keep that focus in your mind, then what you do should move towards that goal. It is like writing an essay, you should keep your mind on – what information do I need to answer this question? You should focus on answering the question. Working as a manager is a similar principle, you should always focus on what you are trying to achieve.
HOW DOES STUDY GET YOU A JOB?
Although doing a course may not guarantee you a job – it will set you apart from those that have not studied at all and it will improve your personal choices when applying for jobs.
Each job listed usually gets a huge amount of response – when employers choose people to interview they will look at a range of factors – what you have studied will be just one of those factors. You need to be able to catch a potential employer’s attention – stand out from the rest.
So what do employers look for?
- Great communication skills: verbal, written and also the ability to use a computer.
- Problem solving skills: thinking on your feet and working through problems in an orderly way.
- Efficiency: doing things in a logical order without compromising accuracy improves efficiency.
- Knowledge and skills demanded of the job.
- A passion for the work and willingness to learn.
- Presentation and grooming - people who present as being well organised and well-groomed will impress.
How Will A Course Help Me To Gain those Skills?
Choosing the right course will help i.e. one that develops knowledge, practical and also your problem solving skills. Not all courses do this. At ACS our courses focus on Problem Based Learning so this enables the student to develop these skills and at the same time using this learning method also improves you knowledge retention and recall.
What Can You do to Improve Your Career Prospects?
- Choose a course that you are passionate about – be open to learning and use this course to start building your future. Today we are expected to keep learning and studying in order to keep up with a world that is rapidly changing. Learning is a lifelong experience. Study a course that makes you stand out - a qualification that is different to all the other applicants will always catch the attention of a boss, and may be the difference between getting an interview or not.
- Network with people in the industry, attend conferences and trade shows – make yourself known to people in the industry in general.
- Try to build a range of skills – multi-skilled people catch the eye of the employer or potential employer.
- Write a good CV and ask for help if you need it. Tutors at this school will help our students with their C.V.'s if you ask -no cost. Resume Writing services can also be used, but they charge.
- Recognise your weaknesses and work on improving them - not just academically. And also know your strengths and demonstrate them.
