Online Microcredential in Business & Management

Business Management: Improving Organisational Practice

Develop your managerial and leadership skills to create a positive impact on your organisation, with The Open University.

Created by

The Open UniversityThe Open University

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Explore organisational practice to help you become a better manager

Organisational practice is the examination of how the structures and culture of a company shape the actions and behaviours of its workforce. On this microcredential, you’ll learn how to become a manager who can increase productivity and efficiency to empower your workforce and benefit the broader environment.

You’ll achieve this by exploring different organisational structures and learning how to adapt to change. You will also learn to recognise what is driving change in the contemporary world and how to adapt to it positively, in a way that’s inclusive, ethical, and promotes diversity.

Understand organisational structure and how to apply key theories to your work

Each week, using your current or previous experience of organisational practice, you will focus on areas relevant to you and your work.

Using the latest academic thinking in this area, you’ll have the opportunity to familiarise yourself and experiment with different contemporary organisational models, tools, and frameworks to develop and improve your skills.

From this, you’ll gain a strong understanding of different types of organisational structures and how they evolve over time.

Develop your learning and leadership styles to improve your management skills

By exploring different leadership styles, you’ll develop your managerial skills and find solutions to the everyday challenges that come with leading teams, including conflict resolution, and keeping your team motivated.

You’ll consider the role of power and politics within an organisation and how to navigate it successfully for your own development and to support the team around you. There will be a focus on how to improve your own and your organisation’s approach to learning and how that positively affects culture and progression.

You will also develop a range of personal study skills and techniques that result in improved critical thinking.

Throughout the course you’ll take part in weekly activities to support and consolidate your learning. At the end of the course, you’ll submit an assessment which is marked and graded with personalised feedback, by subject matter experts.

Learn from experts at The Open University

This microcredential has been created by experts from The Open University’s Business School. Its academics have vast experience in the delivery of online business modules, in fact it is one of only 100 business schools in the world to hold the ‘triple crown’ of triple-accredited status with EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. Fewer than 1% of all business schools worldwide have been awarded this accreditation.

Discover more of The Open University’s Business and Management microcredentials – designed to provide you with key leadership and management skills that will set you up for career success.

Choose from Fundamentals of Management Accounting, Financial Accounting for Non-Financial Roles, Marketing Principles and Practice, Project Management and People Management and Leadership.

What skills will you learn?

  • Time management
  • Effective communication
  • Problem solving
  • Critical evaluation
  • Networking
  • Formulating an effective argument
  • Collaboration
  • Digital literacy
  • Presenting
  • Promoting equality, diversity and ethics

What you will achieve

By the end of the microcredential, you’ll be able to...

  • Experiment with different concepts, tools and frameworks to enhance your organisational practice
  • Understand the effect of the broader environment on your organisation to increase your ability to adapt to change
  • Draw upon a range of managerial and study skills that will enhance your practice
  • Use theories that will support you to become a more efficient and supportive manager to your team
  • Ensure that the principles you deploy are ethical and promote equality and diversity in your organisation
  • Throughout the course you will demonstrate your progress through a series of tasks
  • Amalgamate your learning throughout the course and consider how to apply the skills you’ve learnt

Are you eligible for this microcredential?

This is an introductory course and no previous knowledge of organisational studies is required. You do not need specific experience or qualifications to enrol but you should feel comfortable engaging with some academic content.

The course material does not assume that learners are currently working but to get the most out of this course it would be beneficial to have experience of a managerial or professional role. Past experience in the paid or voluntary sector will also be just as relevant.

The course has a global focus and delivers transferable skills for diverse sectors and organisations.

Is this microcredential right for you?

This microcredential will increase your confidence in applying the latest management and organisational principles to your work and help you to develop as a more effective manager.

In particular it will enhance the employability of:

  • Professionals wishing to progress to management level
  • Professionals new to a management role without formal qualifications
  • Senior professionals looking to develop their existing skills to meet the increasing demands of the world around them
  • Self-employed professionals wanting to develop their skills and knowledge to achieve their own goals

Syllabus

What happens before, during, and after your microcredential

  • Before learning

    You’ll have access to our online welcome area where you’ll be able to read any information relating to your microcredential.

  • Course

    From 8 Jul 2024

    Business Management: Improving Organisational Practice

    Grow your management skills, adapt to change successfully, and have a positive impact on the performance of your organisation.

    10 weeks

    10 hours per week

  • After learning

    Your submitted assessment will be marked and graded by subject matter experts and you’ll also receive personalised feedback on your work. You’ll continue to have ongoing access to the course materials.

What you will receive

10 UK credits at Undergraduate level from The Open University and a Certificate

Academic credits are awarded on passing the final assessment. These will be at undergraduate level 6 of the Framework for Higher Education (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) / level 10 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

Find out how credits work and where you can use them in our FAQs.

What is a microcredential?

Microcredentials are designed to upskill you for work in rapidly-growing industries, without the time and cost commitment of a full degree. Your microcredential can stand alone as an independent credential, and some also offer academic credit to use towards a degree.

Learn online with expert instructors

Complete online courses led by experts over multiple weeks with a dedicated group of professionals.

Complete project-based assessments

Test your understanding with online tutor-marked assessments and exercises.

Earn a professional credential

Finish your learning and pass your assessments to gain an accredited credential.

Advance further in your career

Use your microcredential as evidence of your specialised skills and progress further in your industry.

Career-focused learning by 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

Delivered by experts

Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies and Director of the Gendered Organisational Practice research cluster.

I am a Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the Open University Business School. My research and teaching focus on management and organisations in shifting contexts of economy, society and politics

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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When would you like to start?

We aim to run our microcredentials every few months. Join on the date that suits you or register to hear about future runs and updates.

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FAQ

We can accept payments made by card (Visa, Mastercard and American Express) or PayPal via our online system.

You will have 14 days from the day the course starts to apply for a refund. If this Microcredential has any non-refundable costs they will be stated in the ‘Overview’ section above. You can find more information in our cancellation and refund policy.

Microcredentials are designed to fit around your life and timezone.

There may be live events as part of your studies, but these will be recorded and can be watched afterwards if you aren’t online for the live broadcast.

No, microcredentials are designed to be taken anywhere in the world. You won’t need the right to study in the country where the university offering the microcredential is based.

Microcredentials are stand-alone courses designed to meet specific learner and employer needs. Those awarded by The Open University have academic credit value at either undergraduate or postgraduate level, and, if appropriate, this may be used towards selected Open University qualifications. For more details, including eligible qualifications, visit The Open University’s Counting microcredentials towards OU qualifications page.

The credit awarded may potentially be used at another university, subject to the agreement of the receiving institution.

Want to know more? Read the microcredential FAQs, or contact us.