Fundamentals of Supervision and Management

Become a more effective manager by learning the language of business management. This course provides skills in managing time, delegating responsibility, motivating your employees, solving problems and resolving conflicts so you can accomplish your job more effectively.

6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs

Starting April 16, 2025

Offered in partnership with your preferred school

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Learning method

Self-Guided

$190

No instructor. Study on your own schedule

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Instructor-Moderated

$175

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Starting April 16 | May 14

Details + Objectives

Course code: sup

If you have recently been promoted to a supervisory or management position or want to learn how to become a more effective manager, this course will help you master the basics of business by learning the language of management.

You will learn how to make a successful transition from employee to manager and you will learn how to manage your time so that you can deal with the constant demands of a managerial job.

You will learn the skills required to delegate responsibility and motivate your employees. A large part of a manager's job involves getting things done through other people, and this course will help you understand how to influence and direct other people's performance.

Finally, you will learn how to solve problems and resolve conflicts so you can accomplish your job more effectively.

What you will learn

Learn how to manage your time so that you can deal with the constant demands of a managerial job
Learn the skills required to delegate responsibility and motivate employees
Understand how to influence and direct other people's performance
Learn how to solve problems and resolve conflicts

How you will benefit

Learn how to make a successful transition from employee to manager
Become a better, more confident manager with the skills to succeed in your role
Become more effective and efficient at your job

How the course is taught

Instructor-Moderated or Self-Guided online course
6 Weeks or 3 Months access
24 course hours

Outline

How has management theory evolved over the last 100 years? This lesson will take you back to the older days of assembly lines and scientific management. You will learn how organizations are structured and describe managerial jobs in terms of the technical and managerial tasks that are performed.

It's time to identify the characteristics of a typical supervisor's day and how they handle daily challenges. In this lesson, you will learn how to make the supervisor's path smoother, such as empowerment and communication. How does one begin to think, act, and look like a manager?

Is leadership distinct from management? Do you have what it takes to be a leader, or are you cut out to be just a manager? This lesson covers the evolution of leadership research and begin to discuss the fascinating field of motivation. Believe it or not, a good leader can build motivation right into the design of a job.

In this lesson, you will learn how a supervisor can handle the challenges of delegation, performance management, and time management. Once you understand the challenges of the typical day, you will understand the importance of time management to a supervisor.

It's time to really dig into the topic dear to many managers' hearts-motivation. This lesson clarifies what managers need to understand about human motivation and help you to understand the links between motivation and productivity.

Motivational theories are great as long as they truly help you to manage people at work every day. This lesson looks closely at four theories: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation, Alderfer's theory on the three levels of human, and the three needs outlined by McClelland.

Do you believe that people naturally want to do a good job? Or are people lazy by nature and need to be watched? In this lesson, find out if you're a Theory X or a Theory Y-type of manager. There are self-fulfilling prophecies to each of those beliefs.

This lesson defines two more very practical and influential motivational theories; equity theory and expectancy theory. This lesson wraps up the theoretical about the importance of creating a motivational environment.

Now comes the hard part: when real life doesn't work out the way the theories said it should. What happens when conflict arises? This lesson explores conflict and conflict resolution. You will learn about specific techniques of negotiation, a particular type of conflict management.

This less about conflict and problem-solving in work groups? This lesson identifies means of solving conflict between groups. You will also learn a problem-solving model that is useful in work and in life.

This lesson explores the problem-solving model and talks about the importance of establishing objectives, generating alternatives, and choosing a solution.

Your final lesson concludes the problem-solving model discussion and gives you the tools you need to carry the plan through to completion. You will explore the conflicts that may arise while solving problems and completing action plans.

Instructors & Support

Patricia Addesso

Patricia Addesso has worked for over 20 years in retail, academic and telecommunications organizations. She has a doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and well-grounded in the theory of human behavior at work. In addition, she has held management positions in three companies, and thus "speaks the language" of upper management. This blend of the theoretical and the practical is the hallmark of her consulting style. Dr. Addesso's specialty is organization development and team building. She has been involved in managing mergers, acquisitions, and other large-scale organizational changes, and is currently involved in projects such as strategic planning and personality assessments.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

PC: Windows 8 or later.
Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

FAQ

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

Reviews

I liked the personal examples of the instructor that were included. It made it very helpful to hear about real examples. I am recommending this course to my boss and will be taking part 2.

I've been involved in project engineering for a couple of years now. This course was able to structure the things that I'm dealing with on a day to day basis in an educational form for me. It will be of good help for my current job as well as for future jobs in higher management. Thanks and I'm looking forward to Fundamentals of Supervision and Management II.

Taking this course was the best decision of my professional career! I found that I was able to apply the lessons almost immediately to my work life. I also found myself paying more attention to my interaction with my family members. I'm glad I registered for the second part of this course. I can't wait for it to start.

I would like to take a moment to thank the instructor for really outlining the meaning of what supervision and management is and should be. These courses have been easier to digest with the many examples provided. There is a lot of great information to process!

Taking this course is one of the best decisions that I've made since being in a managerial position. I wish I had taken it nine months ago. It can be very difficult or rather challenging supervising your co-workers, especially those who have been there many years before.

The class was GREAT! Thank you for the great lecture materials and information :) See you in Part II soon!

This class was amazing! The assignments helped me work through conflicts I was having with my management responsibilities and dealing with all the different personalities at work. Through this class I have found different ways to solve problems and conflicts and I can't wait to try some of these new methods out when a new problem arises...These were things I always wanted to know but did not have the proper questions to ask. Now I have a better understanding of what is expected of me as a manager.

Thank you for the wealth of information. I do not think you left any subject unturned and thoroughly covered a wide array of topics on supervision and management...You gave what I thought was a unique way of giving value to what may be a controversial work situation and how to deal with it. I feel much more confident starting in my newly promoted position than I did when I began this course.

This class was great, thank you! I loved the entire layout of the course, and how every lesson built on the previous. Because of the "building" of knowledge in this course, I feel like I truly learned and retained a lot of information. I especially enjoyed the interactive elements in this course, which helped explain topics better and helped me to check my understanding as I moved through the lesson. Thanks again, this was great. Looking forward to starting the lessons in Part II!

This class has been enlightening. I took it to help me figure out how to motivate the folks I manage, but so much of the information really made me think. This was one of the best courses I have ever taken.

I liked the personal examples of the instructor that were included. It made it very helpful to hear about real examples. I am recommending this course to my boss and will be taking part 2.

The class was GREAT! Thank you for the great lecture materials and information :) See you in Part II soon!

Fundamentals of Supervision and Management

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