This course is designed to be very practical. You learn by doing. For each module, the learning resources support the team tasks. Rather than giving you the information first and then asking you to apply some of it, these resources are available to you ‘just-in-time’ when you need them to complete your tasks.
The course can be done in your own time and space, but it is not ‘self-paced’. Because the course involves collaborative work, you need to tackle the same topics in the same weeks as the other participants, and produce teamwork by the deadlines.
That doesn’t mean you need to be online at the same time as your teammates. Join the discussion whenever you can – the ‘conversation’ is written in the discussion forums so it remains available for you to see – but make sure you log in regularly to make valuable contributions as well.
The main course page is there to support your learning journey. In the introductory part you will find all the information you need to know about this course. This is followed by a forum where you should introduce yourself to the other learners on this course. Then we’ll do an icebreaker to form teams and to get to know each other better. When this is done, we’ll be ready to tackle the course work.
Real-life stories
There are a lot of stories in this course. These stories are about companies in which managers face problems, just like in real life. In your teams you will have to decide how best to solve these problems. Reading the resources right under the tasks should help you to solve the problems.
There is so much to learn about management and we hope that this introduction will inspire you to look for more stories and knowledge. There are plenty of wonderful books, magazines and Internet resources to help you learn more. At the end of your course page you’ll find some recommended resources, but don't let this limit your own searches!
Why teamwork?
Whether you are a manager or being managed, in real life you don’t do this on your own. This is why we have developed a course that involves teamwork.
Learning through online group work helps you build essential skills for the world of work today. Global business is increasingly done online. We think it is important that you:
- get a feel for what it means to 'talk' to people whom you may never meet
- are able to agree (or disagree) with a group of people and come up with a solution
- can negotiate deals online without any visual clues.
Moreover, learning at a distance can be a lonely experience. Learning together with other people is usually more motivating and much more fun.
How do we work in teams?
We have divided the larger group of learners into smaller teams. Your tutor will appoint a presenter for each team task. This role will be rotated.
What do the presenters do?
The presenters contribute to the team task discussions and also:
- initiate discussions
- moderate discussions, if necessary
- ensure all issues raised are fully addressed
- ensure team members stick to the task
- act as a timekeeper to ensure the task is done by the deadline
- develop the deliverable or output required
- post a draft output a few days before the deadline to ensure other team members can check whether it is the output everyone agreed upon
- post the final output and post a message in the discussion forum to let the facilitator know that the task is done.
What does everyone else do?
A team that works collaboratively does not need to ask a lot of its presenter, so please support them and help them to do their jobs well.
All team members need to contribute meaningfully and be actively involved in the team tasks.
What do we expect from you?
The expected study time for this course is [add course duration here]. This includes participation in online team tasks, reading resources and doing the assignments. You should log on to your course page at least three or four times a week.
One advantage of online learning environments is that no one is left out of a fast-moving conversation or silenced because we run out of time. It also means that there is no excuse for non-participation.
What can you expect from us?
We will log into the course page at least once a day and monitor the work and messages. On weekdays you may expect an answer to any of your queries within 24 hours. However, on weekends we may or may not be able to log in every day.
When you are involved in teamwork we will not ‘interrupt’, unless there is a reason to – for example when the team is off track. We will give extensive feedback on the teams’ outputs.
Even if we may not always be very visible in the course page, we are always ‘present’. We will closely monitor the work and progress made by each of you, and we will contribute whenever we think there is a need.
If you have any queries that are personal, you are most welcome to send us an email. If you need to talk, that’s fine too. Phone us on the numbers listed in the resource ‘Meet your tutor(s)’, or let us know when you are available for a telephone conversation and email us your number. If you think your question may help other learners as well, we encourage you to use the discussion forum called ‘With a little help from your friends . . .’.
Enjoy your learning journey!
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