Unit 1: Management and Ethics Today
As a manager, you need to make decisions for a company that will maximize its return on investment. You must ensure that the operations you oversee are profitable, expenditures are reasonable, and costs remain within acceptable margins. These choices involve your ethical obligation to be a responsible steward of the company’s resources. Your ethics—or your ideas about right and wrong—should guide not only your decisions about resource allocation but also just about every aspect of your work. Ethical management involves making moral and responsible choices to benefit your community and organization, which can be global in scope.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Define ethics
- Relate ethics to the challenges of business management
- Develop a code of conduct for your organization
- Create a customer service policy to promote the ethical treatment of customers
- Evaluate the ethical challenges involved in the global business environment
Unit 2: Planning and Decision-Making
To lead a project well, you must communicate well, track the progress of numerous tasks simultaneously, never lose sight of the bigger picture, and make effective decisions quickly. You also need to define goals to guide your team and provide the tools to collaborate and stay in the loop about what different team members are doing. Besides providing focused reports so that stakeholders can be aware of how the project is progressing, the project leader must handle problems—large, small, personal, and practical—along the way. Project managers need a strong and varied skill set to succeed in leading their teams to the finish line.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Define project management and the skills that project managers need
- List and describe the phases of project management
- Create project-level and short-term goals
- Evaluate the process of initiating, planning, executing, and closing a project
- Analyze and solve project problems
Unit 3: Internal and External Communication
Perhaps nothing is more important to the successful functioning of a business than effective communication. Strong communication helps team members develop the trust necessary to share knowledge and insights freely with one another. Open, honest, and accurate communication enables managers to identify or even anticipate problems, understand what needs to be done, and foster collaboration to develop solutions. Strong communication helps team members develop trust to share their knowledge and insights. Cultivating your team’s communication skills makes you a more effective manager.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Examine types of communication, communication barriers, and the communication process
- Apply recommendations for improving meetings and presentations
- Review tips for clear and effective business writing
- Develop a customer profile and customer service strategy
- Evaluate strategies for conflict resolution
Unit 4: Marketing
Imagine that you have a great idea for a business that sells an affordable smartphone to customers on a budget. You’ve attracted investors to your idea and have found a manufacturer for your phone, but where are you going to sell your phone? How will you attract the attention of your target customers? What sales and promotional techniques will you use to convince these customers to buy your phone? These are the kinds of questions you need to answer to begin marketing your product.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe how to conduct market research
- Develop a marketing strategy
- Create a marketing plan
- Analyze strategies for implementing the four Ps of the marketing mix: product (or service), price, place, and promotion
Unit 5: Production and Supply Chain Management
Without efficient production processes and a well-managed supply chain, your business will never run as efficiently as it could. You can control costs and correct inefficiencies by monitoring the productivity and logistics of your operations, from the vendors and manufacturer to your customers. By managing your inventory, you can ensure that customers receive the products ordered and get them on time. This will enhance their satisfaction and the image of your business. In this unit, you’ll learn everything that goes into productivity, retail math, vendor selection, manufacturing processes, quality control, and supply chain management.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Participate in sales and operations planning (S&OP)
- Manage inventory for a retail store
- Select a vendor that fits the needs of the company
- Examine manufacturing processes as well as the concepts of quality control, assurance, and improvement
- Apply supply chain management techniques by measuring key performance indicators, controlling risks, and using logistics management systems
Unit 6: Human Resources Management
In this unit, you will learn about human resources management as well as the valuable role it plays in keeping your employees motivated and productive. We will discuss the various functions of human resources, including recruiting and onboarding staff; determining compensation and benefits; training and developing staff; maintaining staff relations and the work environment; and keeping employee records. You’ll also discover how to assess and measure employee performance fairly and determine when and how to fire employees. We’ll end the unit by exploring risk management and how to ensure workplace safety as well as security.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Explain the functions of human resources
- Create job descriptions, employee contracts, standardized interviews, performance reviews, and other necessary human resources documents
- Describe the process of finding, interviewing, evaluating, onboarding, and compensating staff
- Evaluate and improve employee performance
- Assess risk management as well as workplace safety and security
Unit 7: Business Law
In this unit, you will learn about business law and why it’s critical not only that you follow the letter of the law, but also that you strive to create a spirit of compliance in your organization. First, you’ll learn how a proactive legal strategy means integrating legal counsel into the decision-making for your business. Next, you’ll learn what makes a valid and enforceable contract, the types of contracts, and how contracts are upheld. This will lead to a discussion of employment law, including laws protecting employee safety and prohibiting discrimination, how unions work, and when strikes are legal. Finally, you’ll learn about acquiring the licenses and permits your business needs to operate legally, ensuring customer and employee safety to avoid lawsuits, and complying with legal safeguards for consumers.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Identify the types of business law, the provisions of particular laws, and the roles of specific government agencies
- Evaluate legal strategies for compliance with laws regulating business
- Analyze the elements and types of contracts and how they are enforced
- Differentiate the types of employees and explain the role of unions
- Acquire the necessary licenses and permits, avoid lawsuits through safety measures, and comply with consumer safeguards
Unit 8: Career Exploration
In this unit, you will learn about how to get a job and develop within your chosen career. First, we’ll discuss how to create a career plan that can guide you through the strategic decisions you must make to start building your career. You’ll also discover how to begin putting your career plan into action by finding a job. Next, we’ll talk about how to create a resume and letter of application that will properly introduce you to hiring managers in a way that shows off what makes you a desirable applicant. Then, we’ll cover how to prepare for and present oneself well during the interview process. Finally, we’ll explore how to develop work experience, grow within your career through ongoing education, and leave a job gracefully when you’re ready for a new challenge.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Develop a career plan with short-term as well as long-term goals and assess methods for finding a job
- Create a resume and letter of application
- Prepare for and successfully complete an interview
- Analyze opportunities for developing work experience and ongoing education
- Evaluate the best way to leave a job
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