A Short, Interesting, and Affordable Course on Management
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A Short, Interesting, and Affordable Course on Management
Instructor: Sage Instructors
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What you'll learn
Analyze core management concepts, communication, and leadership strategies.
Apply ethical and relational practices in organizational settings.
Evaluate organizational culture and identity-work in management contexts.
Skills you'll gain
- Cultural Diversity
- Ethical Standards And Conduct
- Organizational Development
- Organizational Leadership
- Interpersonal Communications
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Relationship Management
- Culture
- Strategic Leadership
- Communication
- Business Management
- Organizational Strategy
- Business Ethics
- Leadership and Management
- Organizational Change
- People Management
- Leadership Studies
- Leadership
Details to know
June 2026
5 assignments
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
There are 5 modules in this course
This course offers a concise, engaging overview of management practices, exploring the strategies, culture, and ethics shaping modern organizations. It highlights how management theory informs decision-making, communication, and organizational culture.
Learners will develop a practical understanding of essential management concepts, improving their ability to analyze organizational challenges and apply effective leadership strategies. The course emphasizes real-world outcomes by bridging theory with practice in everyday managerial situations. What sets this course apart is its succinct approach, combining foundational theory with real-life examples and ethical considerations. Learners gain actionable insights into how managers influence people, culture, and organizational success. Ideal for students, aspiring managers, and professionals, the course requires little prior management experience. Those seeking a quick yet meaningful introduction to management will find it highly accessible and informative. This course is based on the book, A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Management, by Ann L. Cunliffe. Copyright Β©2021 by Sage Publications Limited. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. Published by Sage Publications Limited, London. Used by arrangement with Sage Publications Limited.
This module explores the evolution of management as a discipline, examining its ethical, cultural, and political dimensions. Learners will critically analyze traditional and contemporary management theories, including the rise of managerialism and the emergence of Critical Management Studies. The module also addresses the impact of management practices on individuals, organizations, and society.
What's included
1 video9 readings1 assignment
1 videoβ’Total 1 minute
- Overviewβ’1 minute
9 readingsβ’Total 55 minutes
- Introductionβ’6 minutes
- Management Studiesβ’8 minutes
- Management and Managerialismβ’4 minutes
- In the beginning: systematization β¦β’7 minutes
- Managerialization β¦β’5 minutes
- β¦ Along with professionalizationβ’9 minutes
- And so to destabilization β¦ more about Critical Management Studiesβ’4 minutes
- Everything is politicalβ’7 minutes
- Suspicion is on the riseβ’5 minutes
1 assignmentβ’Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Management Theories and Practicesβ’16 minutes
This module explores how language shapes communication and relationships within management contexts. Learners will examine traditional and alternative models of communication, the social construction of reality, and the impact of dialogue and relationality on organizational life. Through real-world examples, the module highlights how meanings and realities are co-created in everyday managerial conversations.
What's included
1 video11 readings1 assignment
1 videoβ’Total 1 minute
- Overviewβ’1 minute
11 readingsβ’Total 62 minutes
- Introductionβ’5 minutes
- Assumptions underlying conventional modelsβ’6 minutes
- Alternative Ways of Thinking about Language, Reality and Communication β¦ and their Impact on Managingβ’4 minutes
- We are our world and our world is us: social constructionism and dialecticsβ’7 minutes
- How does language work?β’8 minutes
- Words have different meaningsβ’6 minutes
- Language, Living Conversations and Relationalityβ’4 minutes
- Living conversations: dialogism and speech genresβ’8 minutes
- Relationally responsive conversationsβ’6 minutes
- Conversations are about differences and similarities: heteroglossiaβ’5 minutes
- And so to relationality β¦β’3 minutes
1 assignmentβ’Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Communication and Relational Dynamicsβ’16 minutes
This module explores the diverse ways managerial identities are constructed and performed within organizations. Learners will critically examine key discourses, including rational, performative, linguistic, and relational perspectives, to understand how managers' roles and identities are shaped by language, social interactions, and organizational contexts.
What's included
1 video8 readings1 assignment
1 videoβ’Total 1 minute
- Overviewβ’1 minute
8 readingsβ’Total 57 minutes
- Introductionβ’4 minutes
- Managing is performativeβ’4 minutes
- Discourses of managerial identity-workβ’4 minutes
- Managers as rational agents: real realityβ’6 minutes
- Managers as actors: performed realitiesβ’9 minutes
- Managers of meaning: linguistically constructed realitiesβ’7 minutes
- Managers as discursive subjectivities: performative, fragmented realitiesβ’6 minutes
- Relational and reflexive managers: intersubjective realitiesβ’17 minutes
1 assignmentβ’Total 16 minutes
- Discourse and Identity in Management Practicesβ’16 minutes
This module explores the complexities of organizational culture, examining its influence on power dynamics, identity, and resistance within organizations. Learners will investigate both the empowering and controlling aspects of culture, with a focus on ethical leadership, diversity, and strategies for managing and challenging cultural norms. Real-world examples and critical perspectives highlight the emotional and ethical dimensions of managing culture.
What's included
1 video8 readings1 assignment
1 videoβ’Total 1 minute
- Overviewβ’1 minute
8 readingsβ’Total 70 minutes
- Introductionβ’6 minutes
- Managing or manipulating culture?β’7 minutes
- Obversionβ’13 minutes
- Culture and power: 'I got the power'β¦ and the authority and the responsibilityβ’11 minutes
- Culture as man-aging differenceβ’10 minutes
- Subversion: Resistance is Futile ... or is it?β’5 minutes
- Resisting through humourβ’4 minutes
- Diversionβ’14 minutes
1 assignmentβ’Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Organizational Culture and Its Dynamicsβ’16 minutes
This module explores the foundations of ethical leadership and relational management, examining diverse perspectives on ethics, justice, and moral responsibility in organizations. Learners will investigate how managers can foster just and responsible cultures through reflexive practices and real-world examples. The module also addresses debates around the compatibility of ethics and management, and introduces alternative ethical frameworks such as feminist ethics.
What's included
1 video8 readings1 assignment
1 videoβ’Total 1 minute
- Overviewβ’1 minute
8 readingsβ’Total 59 minutes
- Introductionβ’5 minutes
- What is Ethics?β’10 minutes
- Ethics and managingβ’9 minutes
- Feminist ethicsβ’5 minutes
- Can managers be ethical?β’5 minutes
- Moral Managersβ’8 minutes
- Ethics and identity-workβ’9 minutes
- Managing just and moral institutionsβ’8 minutes
1 assignmentβ’Total 16 minutes
- Ethical Leadership and Organizational Responsibilityβ’16 minutes
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