Business Management and Organizational Leadership with CAPM

Hours: 440 / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced

Course Overview:

Today’s managers need to be equipped with the right skills to deal with the growing number of challenges facing them, including dealing with the competition, coping with ethical dilemmas, identifying and hiring talent, managing diversity, building sustainability, and adapting to the latest technology. This course will provide students with a thorough understanding of management, with a focus on the characteristics of successful managers, manager development, and the importance of critical thinking in management.  Using a theoretical approach, this course will encourage students to define effective management and identify the strategies necessary to be successful business managers.  Upon completion of this course, students will be fully prepared to begin working as business managers.

Offering a straightforward introduction to the basic principles of leadership, this course provides students with practical strategies for becoming more effective leaders in organizational settings and in their own lives. Using leadership theory and practical activities, this course will provide a comprehensive overview of the basics of leadership in an understandable, student-centered format.  Each section of this course will focus on a fundamental aspect of leadership, discuss how it can be applied in real leadership situations, and provide relevant profiles of leaders.  The course will utilize applied activities such as case studies, self-assessment questionnaires, observational exercises, and reflection and action worksheets to help the student further explore leadership concepts and real-world applications.

Organizational and Behavioral Leadership Objectives:

• Define leadership and explain the evolution of the concept of leadership
• Identify the different traits of leaders
• Describe how to engage people’s strengths through the leadership process
• Define the three types of leadership: the authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire styles, and develop an individual leadership style and philosophy
• Describe the strategies used to attend to both tasks and relationships as part of the leadership process
• Describe the importance of developing leadership skills, and identify common leadership skills that improve effectiveness
• Describe the process of developing a workable vision within any context of leadership
• Identify the strategies used to establish a constructive climate, manage conflict, and overcome obstacles

This course will provide entry-level project managers with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully complete the Project Management Institute’s nationally recognized Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam.  This credential is considered the standard of excellence in the field of project management and is often a required credential in the field.  This comprehensive course will use learning activities, practice exams, and assignments to help students prepare for, and successfully complete, the CAPM exam. 

Certified Associate in Project Management Exam Prep Objectives:

• Describe the importance of project management, organizational project management maturity and the PMP® certification process
• Identify the nine knowledge areas of PMI’s Guide to the PMBOK® 6e
• Describe the project management process from Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, to Closing
• Identify the 49 key processes of project management and how they relate
• Describe projects and project management disciplines
• Identify the steps taken when initiating a project
• Describe how to plan project work
• Develop project schedules, cost estimates, and budgets
• Explain how to plan project quality, staffing, and communications
• Describe the process for monitoring and controlling project work, schedules, costs, quality, staffing, and communications
• Explain how to monitor and control project risks and procurement tasks e.g. contracts
• Explore the Agile Practices Guide for an introductory level understanding of iterative approaches
• Demonstrate the skill in selecting best approach (iterative or traditional) for a given project

Curriculum Developer Biography:

Willow Nolland is an expert in education and eLearning, with more than ten years of experience in curriculum development and instructional design. She has worked in higher education for over twelve years, and has developed numerous courses and has been involved in curriculum development across disciplines. She has experience with academic program development and coordination, curriculum development, student learning outcomes, educational partnerships, and student development. In addition, she has developed and administered professional development programs for various groups, including teachers, counselors, healthcare workers and members of private industry. She is a certified Quality Matters Reviewer and has taken graduate courses in online course development. She designs and teaches online courses at the college level and is proficient in a variety of course management systems. She has helped educators redesign their courses to transition them from a face-to-face format to an online format, and has provided course editing assistance to others. As a freelance instructional designer and curriculum developer, her projects have included course editing and redesign of online continuing education courses for nurses, CEU curriculum development for healthcare workers and teachers, and course review and editing for various colleges and universities.

This course prepares the student to take the Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification exam.

Course Outline:

Business Manager Career Prep Curriculum:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Management

In this lesson, you will receive an overview of management.  You will define management and identify the characteristics of an effective management.  Different management styles will be discussed and explored.  In addition, you will learn about the history of management and the ways it has evolved over the years.

Lesson 2: Sustaining - A Balanced Approach to Management

In this lesson, you will begin to learn about implementing a balanced approach to management.  You will learn about the importance of critical thinking for managers, as well as strategies to manage during times of organizational change.  This lesson will also provide an overview of diversity, ethics, and social responsibility in management.

Lesson 3: Planning

In this lesson, you will learn how to implement planning into management.  Planning is a crucial component of effective management, yet many managers fail to do it.  This lesson will focus on making better decisions, setting goals, and designing strategies.

Lesson 4: Organizing

In this lesson, you will learn about the organizing component of management.  Effective managers must be able to organize people and processes to ensure that the system does not break down.  This lesson will cover all aspects of organizing, including structuring organizations, managing team performance, and being aware of the human side of management.

Lesson 5: Leading

In this lesson, you will learn about leadership.  You will learn about the importance of leadership skills in management, and you will identify the qualities and strategies that promote effective leadership. This lesson will cover a variety of topics relate to leadership, including the role of managers as leaders, how to understand individual behavior, and the importance of communicating and motivating others. 

Lesson 6: Controlling

In this lesson, you will learn about the importance of controls in management.  A  control is a tool that helps managers use information to influence behavior and affect operational performance through greater efficiencies and effective decision making. By exercising control, managers are better able to oversee activities and direct employees toward achieving organizational goals. 

Lesson 7: The Future of Management

In this lesson, you will learn about the future of management.  You will begin to consider the ways in which the role of the manager may change and will develop strategies for managing that changing role effectively.  As part of this lesson, you will learn about entrepreneurship and its potential for changing the face of management.

Organizational and Behavioral Leadership Curriculum:

Lesson 1: Understanding Leadership

In this lesson, you will explore the multifaceted nature of leadership, examining six unique perspectives. You will learn to distinguish between leadership and management, analyze significant findings from global leadership studies, and identify examples of destructive leadership. Additionally, you will understand the key factors that contribute to effective leadership in various contexts.

Lesson 2: Recognizing Your Traits

In this lesson, you will explore the essential traits that contribute to effective leadership. You will examine six key traits that successful leaders commonly exhibit and compare how these traits have manifested in the leadership of renowned global and historical figures. You will also gain insights into how specific traits influence the leadership process in various contexts.

Lesson 3: Understanding Leadership Styles

In this lesson, you will explore the concept of personal leadership styles and their impact on effectiveness. You'll analyze the implications of Douglas MacGregor’s theories, compare and contrast authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership styles, and assess your own leadership style in various contexts. This exploration will help you develop a deeper understanding of your personal leadership philosophy.

Lesson 4: Attending to Tasks and Relationships

In this lesson, you will examine the dual dimensions of leadership behavior: task orientation and relationship orientation. You'll compare these styles and discuss their significance in effective leadership. By reflecting on your own inclinations toward tasks and relationships, you will better understand how to balance these behaviors to enhance your leadership effectiveness.

Lesson 5: Developing Leadership Skills

This lesson focuses on the crucial skills required for effective leadership, grouped into administrative, interpersonal, and conceptual categories. You will gain a comprehensive understanding of how these skills contribute to successful leadership by enhancing your ability to influence others and address challenges effectively.

Lesson 6: Engaging Strengths

This lesson addresses recognizing and leveraging leadership strengths. You will assess the role of strengths in leadership development and learn to engage your own strengths and those of others. The focus will also be on understanding how to utilize these strengths to foster better team dynamics and drive organizational success.

Lesson 7: Creating a Vision

This lesson focuses on the importance of creating a compelling vision in leadership. You will learn to identify the five key characteristics of a vision and assess the skills needed to transform a vision into reality. Understanding how to develop and communicate a vision will enhance your leadership effectiveness.

Lesson 8: Working With Groups

This lesson examines the dynamics of working with groups in an organizational setting. You will learn about different types of groups, the stages of group development, and the roles individuals play within groups. Additionally, the lesson will cover practical strategies for enhancing group effectiveness, including setting goals, establishing norms, and building cohesiveness.

Lesson 9: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion

This lesson explores the critical concepts of diversity and inclusion in leadership. You will review the interrelated processes of diversity and inclusion and evaluate how they impact organizational outcomes. Additionally, you will analyze Brewer’s assertion that inclusion requires both assimilation and differentiation and summarize the six key components of the experience of inclusion.

Lesson 10: Managing Conflict

This lesson addresses the inevitability of conflict in groups and organizations, highlighting it as both a challenge and an opportunity for leaders. You will learn how to manage conflict to produce positive change, explore various approaches to resolving conflicts, and understand the crucial role of effective communication in conflict resolution.

Lesson 11: Addressing Ethics in Leadership

This lesson examines the ethical responsibilities inherent in leadership. You will learn to define ethical leadership, analyze its key factors, and recognize the challenges of universally defining ethical behavior. Understanding these aspects will help you better navigate the moral dimensions of leadership and make decisions for the common good.

Lesson 12: Exploring Destructive Leadership

This lesson explores destructive leadership and its impact. You will examine the three defining components of destructive leadership and the Toxic Triangle framework. The lesson also covers how to identify and address toxic leadership by evaluating the roles of leaders, followers, and situational factors.

Certified Associate in Project Management Exam Prep Curriculum:

Lesson One: Introduction to Project Management and the PMBOK® Guide

This lesson will provide an overview of the PMBOK® Guide, as well as the concept of project management. The Relationships among Portfolio Management, Program Management, Project Management, and Organizational Project Management will be discussed. In addition, students will learn about the business value of project management and the relationship between project management, operations management, and organizational strategy. Finally, students will learn about the role of the project manager and his or her responsibilities within the organization.

Lesson Two: Organizational Influences and Project Life Cycle

Projects and project management take place in an environment that is broader than that of the project itself. Understanding this broader context helps ensure that work is carried out in alignment with the organization’s goals and managed in accordance with the organization’s established practices. This lesson describes how organizational influences affect the methods used for staffing, managing, and executing the project. It discusses the influence of stakeholders on the project and its governance, the project team’s structure and membership, and different approaches to the phasing and relationship of activities within the project’s life cycle.

Lesson Three: Project Management Processes and Project Integration Management

The PMBOK® Guide describes the nature of project management processes in terms of the integration between the processes, their interactions, and the purposes they serve. Project management processes are grouped into five categories known as Project Management Process Groups (or Process Groups). This lesson provides information for project management of a single project organized as a network of interlinked processes.  It details the project management processes, and includes information regarding project management process interactions and project management process groups.

Project Integration Management includes the processes and activities to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes and project management activities within the Project Management Process Groups. In this lesson, students will learn how Project Integration Management includes making choices about resource allocation, making trade-offs among competing objectives and alternatives, and managing the interdependencies among the project management Knowledge Areas.

Lesson Four: Project Scope Management

This lesson will explore the topic of Project Scope Management. Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. Managing the project scope is primarily concerned with defining and controlling what is and is not included in the project.

Lesson Five: Project Schedule Management

In this lesson, students will learn the processes involved in Project Schedule Management, which refers to the components required to manage the timely completion of the project. Specifically, this lesson will address the concepts of schedule planning and management, activity definition and sequencing, estimating activity resources and durations, and schedule development and control.

Lesson Six: Project Cost Management

This lesson will provide an overview of the processes involved in Project Cost Management. Students will learn how to ensure that projects can be managed in a way that allows for completion within the allocated budget. Within this lesson, students will learn about planning, estimating, financing, funding, managing, and controlling costs for each project.

Lesson Seven: Project Quality Management

This lesson will provide a comprehensive overview of Project Quality Management. This topic includes the processes and activities of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. Project Quality Management uses policies and procedures to implement, within the project’s context, the organization’s quality management system and, as appropriate, it supports continuous process improvement activities as undertaken on behalf of the performing organization. Project Quality Management works to ensure that the project requirements, including product requirements, are met and validated. In addition to the PMBOK® reading covering Project Quality Management this lesson includes Monitoring and Controlling project work (Heldman, CH10.)

Lesson Eight: Project Resource Management

This lesson will provide an overview of Project Resource Management, which includes the processes that organize, manage, and lead the project team. The project team is comprised of the people with assigned roles and responsibilities for completing the project. Project team members may have varied skill sets, may be assigned full or part-time, and may be added or removed from the team as the project progresses. Project team members may also be referred to as the project’s staff. Although specific roles and responsibilities for the project team members are assigned, the involvement of all team members in project planning and decision-making is beneficial.

Lesson Nine: Project Communications and Project Risk Management

This lesson will provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform effective Project Communications Management. This includes the processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information. Project managers spend most of their time communicating with team members and other project stakeholders, whether they are internal (at all organizational levels) or external to the organization.

Lesson Ten: Project Procurement Management

This lesson will provide a comprehensive overview of Project Procurement Management, which includes the processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results needed from outside the project team, as well as how to close the project. The organization can be either the buyer or seller of the products, services, or results of a project. It also includes the contract management and change control processes required to develop and administer contracts or purchase orders issued by authorized project team members. In addition, Project Procurement Management includes controlling any contract issued by an outside organization (the buyer) that is acquiring deliverables from the project from the performing organization (the seller), and administering contractual obligations placed on the project team by the contract.

Lesson Eleven: Agile Practices Guide

This lesson will provide a comprehensive overview of Agile Practices,  which includes the processes necessary to introduce students to Agile, the Agile Manifesto and mindset (including Annexes A1-A2), lean and Kanban principles (including Annex A3), the various life cycles of Agile projects, and Agile Implementation.   Implementation topics include; creating an Agile environment and delivering an Agile environment.  Students will learn the organizational considerations for Project Agile and get a sense of urgency to capitalize on Agile processes in "A Call To Action."

All necessary materials are included.

Certification(s):

This course prepares the student to take the Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification exam.

To apply for the CAPM, students will need to have:

• Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
• 23 hours of project management education completed by the time you sit for the exam.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.