• The Open University

Management of Uncertainty: Leadership, Decisions and Action

Build the skills and capabilities required to manage and lead in the face of radical uncertainty

741 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    12 weeks

  • Weekly study

    13 hours
Overview
Requirements
Educators
This course is part of the Management of Uncertainty: Leadership, Decisions and Action program, which will enable you to discover how to make effective decisions when faced with radical uncertainty.

This microcredential will support you in developing the skills, capabilities and perspectives needed in a world of radical uncertainties.

You’ll develop new ways of engaging with radical uncertainties, think critically about how uncertainties are distributed in societies and organisations, develop greater resilience in the face of radical uncertainty and unexpected events, and grow your own capacity for leadership and action.

What topics will you cover?

  • Exploring the different consequences of risk versus radical uncertainty
  • Taking account of the impact of error culture and defensive decision making on managing uncertainty
  • Avoiding the traps of confusing risk and radical uncertainty
  • Exploring the construction of certainty and uncertainty in society and organisations
  • Exploring the role of stories, imagination and emotion in the management of uncertainty
  • Working with modelling, scenarios and big data whilst avoiding their pitfalls in the context of uncertainty
  • Organising for radical uncertainty: collective mindfulness and organisational resilience
  • Managing the unexpected
  • Leading and influencing in the face of radical uncertainty
  • Understanding and developing your own capabilities for tolerating uncertainty, coping with uncomfortable knowledge, and wise reasoning
  • Developing socially responsible approaches to the management of uncertainty
  • Making use of course ideas in your own context
  • Planning your own personal development for leading and managing in the context of radical uncertainty and unexpected events

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...

  • Identify the ways in which as individuals, organisations and societies we construct certainty and avoid uncertainty.
  • Apply multiple perspectives on uncertainty and tools for engaging with uncertainty whilst still being able to act.
  • Reflect critically on the uses, limitations and dangers of big data, artificial intelligence, and models, in contexts of uncertainty.
  • Demonstrate a critical and ethical awareness of how uncertainty is socially distributed in society and in organisations and how your actions as a manager/leader can impact this.
  • Reflect on and develop your own capacity for leadership under uncertainty.
  • Evaluate assumptions critically, in planning, forecasting, modelling, and strategizing to support more mindful organising and greater resilience in the face of uncertainty.
  • Demonstrate the following skills: critical analysis; perspective-taking; personal resilience; engaging with uncomfortable knowledge; tolerance of ambiguity and ambivalence; ethical awareness.

Who is the course for?

This microcredential would benefit anyone currently working, or looking to work in:

  • Senior roles in business, the public sector or third sector
  • Strategic analysis or consulting
  • New product development
  • Managing or commissioning large complex projects

The course delivers transferable skills for any industry and is relevant across the board.

This course has a global focus and the skills you’ll learn will be relevant for learners from countries around the world.

To join this microcredential you will ideally have:

  • A Bachelors degree or an equivalent level qualification
  • Experience of working in a role that exposes you to some of the significant uncertainties that organisations face
  • A strong interest in improving your capabilities in leading, managing, deciding and acting in the face of major uncertainties

Who will you learn with?

Dr Layla Branicki

Dr Layla Branicki is Senior Lecturer in HRM and Organisation Studies in The Open University Business School. Layla has a specific interest in understanding uncertainty and resilience.

Prof. Mark Fenton-O'Creevy

I am a Professor of Organisational Behaviour who researches and advises on how consumers, bankers and leaders make decisions in conditions of uncertainty. My blog is at http://emotionalfinance.net

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

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

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Join the conversation on social media

You can use the hashtag #ManagingUncertaintyCourse to talk about this course on social media.