Business leaders might be inspired to enroll in free online classes in management since the reality TV series, "Undercover Boss," debuted. In the CBS-TV series, business leaders work alongside employees, learning how their decisions affect others and where the problems exist within an organization. They also identify the unsung heroes who help make their companies successful.
"Leadership is a relationship, a partnership, and employee engagement isn't just a soft and fuzzy topic but has bottom line implications," Professor Michelle Buck was quoted as saying in a March 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek article. Buck, who is among the faculty at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, cited Gallup Organization information showing that the impact of employee engagement in 2006 cost the economy $300 billion. "One of the biggest responsibilities of leaders," Buck noted, "is to set other people up for success."
Colleges and universities and private companies offer free online courses in management that could help enhance an individual's skills, as well as his or her contributions in the workplace. Business leaders might want to participate in free management courses themselves or enlist staff members. There are free management courses for new managers, as well as those who want to sharpen their skills.
When it comes to instruction, free management courses might come in the form of reading materials, such as those offered by Learnthat.com. The website, established by a former infrastructure and technology management consultant, contains tutorials and training dating back to 2004. Free online courses offered on Learnthat.com include Employee Goal and Performance Planning and Dealing with Conflict in the Workplace.
The Sloan School of Management at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) makes available free online courses that include audio and video components, making use of technological offerings such as podcasts and YouTube. MIT's free management courses, largely from the 2002 to 2009 undergraduate and graduate semesters, cover topics such as people and organizations and communication for managers. Some free online courses address recent issues, such as global markets and social responsibility, which might help managers enhance workplace innovation.
In a graduate Sustainable Business Laboratory course at MIT, for example, students learn how reducing a company's ecological footprint might provide opportunities for new products and services, reinventing existing offerings and resolving problems in new ways, the MIT website shows. A search for free management courses in English on the worldwide OpenCourseWare Consortium website returned more than 230 college, university and technical school offerings, including those from MIT, the University of California-Irvine, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Delft University of Technology. The latter institution, based in the Netherlands, offers a course in water management in urban areas.
Managers might also consider free management workshops and seminars that large corporations offer, in some instances to customers and partners. AT&T earlier this year offered its customers opportunities to phone in for a workshop related to marketing opportunities in the Technology Age. Business owners particularly might turn to the U.S. Small Business Administration, which offers free management courses such as Technology 101 and How to Prepare a Business Plan.
While free online courses might not provide credits toward degrees, they can contribute toward lifelong learning needs that educators have said are becoming increasingly important. Those who participate in free management courses might also receive certificates. President Barack Obama has reportedly demonstrated support for free online courses.
Money, earning and saving, in business is usually the bottom line for most and that's where online finance degrees affect that bottom line. Business is a combination of effort and know-how and college degrees for those influencing the spreadsheet are more common with the convenience of distance learning.
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