• The Open University
  • The Open University Business School

Management and Leadership: Growing as a Manager

Explore the foundations of successful management with this free online course from The Open University and CMI.

165,573 enrolled on this course

An illustration showing managers and leaders towering above a city skyline.
  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Understand the foundations of management and leadership

This online course will provide an introduction to the foundation skills and knowledge you need when becoming a manager.

It has been developed by The Open University Business School – a pioneering institution that is triple accredited by AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB – and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) – the leading authority on management and leadership in the UK.

As such, it will give you the opportunity to learn from both academic experts and experienced practitioners, who have achieved the CMI’s prestigious Chartered Manager status.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1 - What is Management?

  • What is management?
  • Personal development planning
  • Influencing and communicating

Week 2 - Management Styles

  • An introduction to management styles
  • Classic management style theories
  • The importance of management styles – trust in the workplace

Week 3 - Decision Making and Data

  • An introduction to decision making
  • A possible approach to decision making
  • The importance of data and information
  • Decision information

Week 4 - Stakeholders

  • An introduction to stakeholders
  • Categorising stakeholders
  • Understanding stakeholders and meeting their needs

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Describe the concepts of management and leadership
  • Understand and evaluate different management and learning styles
  • Identify the need for and the importance of data as evidence in good decision making
  • Identify and define the term 'stakeholders' and gain an understanding of why they are important
  • Begin and develop the on-going process of personal development planning

Who is the course for?

The course is designed for new or aspiring managers, or experienced managers with few or no formal qualifications. It will enable you to demonstrate your continuous professional development and go on to achieve a CMI Level 5 Award as part of the Management and Leadership, Essentials program. If you also complete and pass the Management and Leadership, Personal Development program, you’ll earn another CMI Level 5 Award. Together, these two awards will give you a CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership – the next step to Chartered Manager status.

We’ve extended the final assessment date

Due to demand we have extended the final assessment registration date until 28th February 2021. We’re working to extend this further and will update this page as soon as this is confirmed.

What do people say about this course?

"This course helped me to think of the business and organisation management from different angles. It widened my knowledge and showed me new ways for my personal development. It requires much time for some tasks but it is great training and experience for all of us. Thanks a lot to all inventors of this course!"

"I took this course because I wanted to give myself an opportunity to be able to apply for jobs where they wanted a formal management qualification, which I didn't have. Now with the certificate of achievement, I can show that I have a formal qualification and I can go for those jobs. I put it on my LinkedIn profile and have also added a line in my CV to say that I have this. "

Who will you learn with?

I work for the OU Business School as Open Media Fellow. I am carrying out Doctoral research in Business Skills online. I am also an Associate Lecturer and I have an MBA and Masters in Online Learning.

Who developed the course?

The Open University

As the UK’s largest university, The Open University (OU) supports thousands of students to achieve their goals and ambitions via supported distance learning, helping to fit learning around professional and personal life commitments.

  • Established

    1969
  • Location

    Milton Keynes, UK
  • World ranking

    Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020

The Open University Business School

A pioneer in flexible learning for over 30 years, The Open University Business School delivers transformational, high quality business and management education which is quality assured.

Endorsers and supporters

endorsed by

Chartered Management Institute

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

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