Leading and Managing People/PMAN102/About



Leading and managing people (PMAN102) is the second of three micro courses for the Principles of management (PMAN100) course.

What's it about?
One of the most important puzzle pieces in an organization is the people at its core. Without its employees, an organization cannot get very far in accomplishing its goals. Leading and managing people comes with many responsibilities and challenges.

A significant part of managing employees has to do with motivating them to perform the best work they can in order to help the organization reach its objectives. Ensuring that employees are motivated is a delicate balance between knowing when to intervene and knowing when to let them work on their own. This comes from thoughtful coaching that ensures employees possess all the tools they need to perform as individuals, but remaining present to support them in their tasks.

Managing is also often associated with leading. While complementary, the two skills don’t automatically come together. A good manager is someone who finds the right mix to accomplish the goals set by the organization. Leaders are able to inspire employees to do their best because they foster a stimulating working environment that thrives on collaboration, and within which people feel valued and appreciated.

The best teams usually include a mix of personalities and working styles. This will inevitably lead to conflicts, which can fester and destroy morale if they are ignored. As a consequence, resolving these issues quickly and professionally is also one of the most important functions of a manager.

In this micro course, you will engage with all of these topics and learn how to manage and lead individuals and teams successfully.

What will I learn?
After successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
 * Describe the differences between leadership and management.
 * Identify the components of a satisfied, functional workforce.
 * Identify causes and solutions to conflicts in the workplace.
 * Describe the changing role of human resources management.

What’s involved?
Participants will join an international community of learners interested in gaining understanding and mastery of the fundamentals of management principles. Largely self-directed and self-paced, the course will, if learners wish, lead to credits from an affiliated institution.

The PMAN 102 micro-course, coupled with PMAN101 and PMAN103, is part of a larger Principles of management (PMAN100) course of study. PMAN101 will introduce learners to the field of management and organizations, PMAN102 will focus on leading and managing people within organizations, and PMAN103 will delve deeper and cover specific activities in the organization such as planning and decision-making. PMAN102 is comprised of four learning pathways with a number of learning activities and resources. The learning pathways are:
 * Managing versus leading
 * The happy workforce
 * Conflict resolution
 * The changing role of human resources management