Understanding Modern Business and Organisations
Learn how knowledge, technology, ethics and globalisation affect businesses today, with this free online course for graduates.
Duration
6 weeksWeekly study
6 hours
Understanding Modern Business and Organisations
Are you a graduate who’s new to the world of work? Would you like to understand some of the key trends affecting organisations today? Are you keen to think about how the workplace is likely to change in future?
This course will give you these insights, looking at four themes:
- Knowledge: what does our shift towards a knowledge economy, away from manual labour, mean for both business and society?
- Technology: how do organisations develop and/or use technology, and protect their intellectual property?
- Ethics: does the rise of corporate social responsibility and environmental issues mean that businesses are more morally and socially responsible today?
- Globalisation: how do organisations perform on the world stage and balance the global with the local?
You’ll understand the trends that are particularly forceful today and which together, determine the playing field for any organisation today and will shape the world of modern business and organisations tomorrow.
What topics will you cover?
- An initial understanding of modern business and organisations.
- Up-to-date concepts to shape understanding of the four major forces that shape the world of modern business and organisations: knowledge, technology, ethics and globalisation.
- Trigger concepts to prompt changing mind about what accepted (up-to-date) knowledge is regarding the four major sources.
- Upcoming concepts, developed in collaboration with the participants, to facilitate an open minded exploration of knowledge that is still being developed.
- Part of the content is developed based on the interest of the participants using the ‘Ask Viktor’ feature.
- Based on Henry Mintzberg, the phenomenon of the financial crisis is described as the crisis of management rather than the crisis of economics.
- Knowledge acquired in the first five weeks is applied to make sense of the financial crisis, arguing for or against Mintzberg’s position through a chosen concept from each of the four major forces that shape the world of modern business and organisations.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
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...
- Develop an initial understanding of the social and business context, structures, and management and leadership process in contemporary organisations.
- Interpret what it means for organisations to reinvent them as communities.
- Explore the main forces that shape modern business and organisations today: knowledge, technology, ethics and globalisation.
- Describe organisations that you know, in your own social, cultural, and economical context from the perspectives of the four major forces.
- Compare experiences in a variety of contexts provided by the internationally diverse participants of the course.
- Discuss hot topics from the world of modern business and organisations that matter to you.
- Evaluate other participants' essays providing them with comments and by doing so understand your own topics of interest better.
- Reflect on your learning and performance in the light of the comments you receive from the other participants.
- Apply what you learnt to the phenomenon of the financial crisis in order to deepen your understanding.
Who is the course for?
The course is aimed at anyone interested in understanding the world of modern business and organisations, and will be of particular interest to those who have graduated from fields other than business.
It is delivered at graduate level - this means that it is thinking-intensive and relatively complex. However, it doesn’t require specific knowledge of any particular topic, as all concepts are built up from scratch.
Some work experience in a business environment, not necessarily in a business organisation, however limited, would be beneficial.
Who will you learn with?
Senior Lecturer in Information & Knowledge Management. My interest is comprised of areas of personal and organisational knowledge and learning as well as supporting these with artificial intelligence.
Who developed the course?
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde is a leading international technological university located in Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, committed to useful learning.
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
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