Business and Analytics Course Bundle

160 Hours / Access Length: 180 Days / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced

Course Overview:

This bundle is aimed at Industrious people who want to arm themselves with the theoretical grounding and practical skills for all things business related. From understanding people and how the psychology of organizations can create an amazing high performing culture, to those who want to understand the fundamentals and contemporary tools, models and insights for business management. You will learn how to become an unstoppable salesperson, master networker, and an overall "winner" at anything you set your mind to. Learn how to reach your full potential by understanding the art of successful selling, creating and building up your own brand, and honing in on a "Millionaire Mindset" to reach your goals. Of course, a business bundle would not be complete, without touching on bookkeeping and gaining the skills to manage the finances of your small business - by the end of the bookkeeping course, you will be able to manage your books from source documents through to creating and interpreting annual financial statements.

The Business and Analytics Course Bundle includes the following courses:

• Personal Bookkeeping and Accounting
• Leadership & Management
• Psychology of Organisations
• Sales
• Mini MBA in Business

Course Outline:

Personal Bookkeeping and Accounting Curriculum:

Key Learning Objectives:

• Describe and apply key concepts of accounting
• Confidently capture transactions using journals, T-accounts and subsidiary ledgers
• Perform bank, creditors and debtors reconciliations to identify errors
• Create general ledger and trial balance reports using Excel
• Create and interpret annual financial statements
• How to prepare for an audit

Module 1, Lesson 1: Introduction

In the introduction we will cover a brief overview of the history of accounting and bookkeeping through the eras then moving into the difference between bookkeeping and accounting as well as the how a typical day and month in the life of a bookkeeper could look. There is another history section looking at the double-entry system. The last topic covers the accounting frameworks that exist as well as the users and uses of financial statements. There is also a really fun section to help your understanding of how to apply bookkeeping principles to everyday life.

Module 1, Lesson 2: The Accounting Cycle

Building on the concepts of the first lesson, we will move into exploring the accounting cycle, key processes that can be managed within the finance function as well as typical transactions that you could expect to see in various businesses. There is an interesting section with factors to consider when deciding to embark on opening your own business.

Module 1, Lesson 3: Building Blocks

Although theoretical, Building Blocks is absolutely essential. It covers the key definitions that will be used and developed throughout the bookkeeping course. Another key concept that will covered is the definition and application of T-accounts. This is a fundamental lesson that gets you into the meat of bookkeeping and lays the foundation to make bookkeeping a breeze.

Module 1, Lesson 4: The Accounting Equation

The Accounting Equation, where accounting meets algebra. Although not as technical we will look at the fundamental principle linked to the balance sheet being the accounting equation as well as practical ways to apply the equation. This lesson is quite practical and where the fun really begins as we will begin to capture basic transactions and practice the principles of the double-entry system using our debits and credits.

Module 1, Lesson 5: Cash Books and Cash Receipts

Looking at the first of many sub-ledgers that will be covered in the course, the cash receipts journal. We will cover the cash receipting cycle in depth to solidify your understanding of this process as well as the types of revenue that can be earned so this will definitely be a lesson for everyone.

Module 1, Lesson 6: Cash books and Cash Payments

Having a look at the second of many sub-ledgers that will be covered in the course, the cash payments journal. We will cover the cash payments cycle in depth to solidify your understanding of this process as well as the types of payments that can be made. This is also a very practical lesson so be sure to bring your "calculators".

Module 1, Lesson 7: General Ledger and Trial Balance - part 1

We begin to bring all the concepts learnt in the previous lessons to see the bigger picture. We will cover the last few steps of the accounting cycle and begin to create a general ledger using the practical's from the previous lessons. We will look at financial periods and cycles so you can get a sense of the how finance works in practice and end off with a brief look at the theory of a trial balance.

Module 1, Lesson 8: General Ledger and Trial Balance - part  2

This is the culmination of all the concepts of the lessons in module 1 and entails an in-depth look at the general ledger and using it as a basis for the preparation of a trial balance. There will be a fun practical to apply your skills from start to finish and firmly cement the steps of the accounting cycle in your library of bookkeeping knowledge.

Module 2, Lesson 1: Bank reconciliations

We are going to cover the basic principles of performing reconciliations, why we perform reconciliations and how to do bank and petty cash reconciliations. Once the reconciliations are complete the next steps are to resolve any items that appear as differences and one of the sections will cover this in depth.

Module 2, Lesson 2: Trade receivables

Another category that appears on the balance sheet is trade receivables. This lesson will look at the definition of trade receivables and other receivables. With trading there is always a risk of customers defaulting so there is an informative section covering the accounting of bad debts, the allowance for bad debts as well as surprise recoveries. An important means of analyzing the debtor's book is through the use of an age analysis, and there will be some practical examples. The end of the lesson then moves on to briefly look at scenarios where you may make prepayments and pay deposits and how to account for these types of transactions.

Module 2, Lesson 3: Inventory

If your revenue model includes the sale of goods, this lesson is for you. It looks at the difference between stock and inventory as well as the different types of inventory and valuation methods. It also covers the techniques for managing your inventory and options for various inventory management systems.

Module 2, Lesson 4: Fixed assets

This is a fun lesson covering fixed assets, the importance of them as well as the different types of fixed assets. This lesson also has a practical section where we look at accounting for the depreciation of assets, the different depreciation models and ends off with a useful topic on managing the fixed asset register.

Module 2, Lesson 5: Accounts Payable

Further down on the balance sheet is where payables exist. We will explore the definition of payables, accounting for discounts received from suppliers and creating a creditors age analysis. There will also be a section on credit terms and the impact of the terms on your cash flow. The last section looks at accounting for accruals, so it will touch on the matching principle again as well as accounting for a new type of liability called income received in advance.

Module 2, Lesson 6: Equity and liabilities

We will revisit the concept of retained income but goes into greater detail regarding transactions that impact on retained income. There is an exciting topic on accounting for loans and the amortization of loans as well as a new category of liabilities called deferred revenue. The section will end off with a brief discussion on contingent liabilities and provisions.

Module 2, Lesson 7: Payroll

Payroll and human resources are two crucial processes in a business. This lesson looks at the difference between the two as well as a detailed look at each process. It then moves on to accounting for payroll and the tricky withholdings as well as other deductions to be aware of, which can all be managed in a system. Therefore, the last section briefly covers the options available for automating the payroll process through a software package.

Module 2, Lesson 8: Debtors and creditors reconciliations

The principles of reconciliations are revisited due to its importance and then the proceeding sections look at performing two more crucial reconciliations in a business including debtors and creditors. The last topic again looks at the process of clearing these differences to ensure you stay on top of your debtors and creditors balances.

Module 3, Lesson 1: Errors          

This lessons revisits identifying errors and takes a deeper look at how to identify various errors as well as correcting them through the use of suspense accounts. There is a detailed practical demonstration at the end to help solidify the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the lesson.

Module 3, Lesson 2: Year end procedures            

We are going to cover the month end and year end procedures that are cause for much anxiety for accountants and bookkeepers. The topics include how to conduct a month end and year end procedures and unpacks the subtle differences between the two processes. There are great tips and tricks throughout the lesson to help you keep organized and make month end and year end a breeze.

Module 3, Lesson 3: Accounting concepts            

This is a very theoretical lesson around all the basics of accounting concepts, which will help provide the context regarding why producing accurate financial statements is the main objective at the forefront of every accountant's mind. We will take a look at the objectives for achieving reliable financial statements and how to achieve those objectives by applying the assumptions, which form the basis of preparation. There is a section around the fundamental qualitative characteristics of useful information as well as the enhancing qualitative characteristics, so you can produce the best quality annual financial statements.

Module 3, Lesson 4: Internal controls part 1        

How to create a sound internal control environment to help you in preventing and detecting the potential for fraud and errors? We will unpack what are the internal control objectives, the components of a control environment and the limitations of internal controls.

Module 3, Lesson 5: Internal controls part 2        

This is the second edition of all things internal control. In this lesson we dive into the practical side of setting up a control environment to suit your needs and look at the process from risk assessment to establishing the controls to address the risks identified.

Module 3, Lesson 6: Audits         

What happens during the mysterious audits times? It looks at both internal and external audits, who are the auditors and what exactly they do besides hound you for documents and cause you great anxiety. To help you look forward to your next audit, there will also be a section on how to prepare for your best audit yet.

Module 3, Lesson 7: Budgeting 

Budgeting is one of the key management tools used by every business. This lesson looks at creating personal budgets as well as budgets for your business using one of the various budgeting methodologies, which will be covered in one of the topics. This is a very practical lesson with great tips, tricks and considerations to help you create useful, good quality budgets whether it be manually or in excel.

Module 3, Lesson 8: Forecasting

Another vital management tool for businesses is the cash flow forecast. This is the next step after the budgeting process has been completed. While not 100%accurate, this exercise is critical to managing your cash flows successfully.

Module 4, Lesson 1: Elements of the AFS              

The final and most exciting module kicks off with a recap of the key accounting concepts learnt throughout the course to date. This sets the stage for taking a deep dive into the structure and make-up of annual financial statements. It looks at the different types of financial statements as well as the elements that make up the financial statements in order to prepare you for your creating your very own set towards to the end of the module in an informative case study.

Module 4, Lesson 2: Balance Sheet         

Usually the first report in the annual financial statements is the balance sheet. So this lesson touches of the classification and presentation of all the elements in a balance sheet. We will also take a look at different types of balances sheets and use all the skills learnt to create a balance sheet in Excel.

Module 4, Lesson 3: Income Statement and Retained Earnings   

The income statement or statement of profit and loss and other comprehensive income is another key report that looks at the financial performance of a business. We will look at ways of preparing one for your business and how it feeds into the statement of retained earnings. We will cover the classification and presentation of these two key reports to get to grips with the various layouts and then utilize these skills to create your own reports.

Module 4, Lesson 4: Cash Flow Statement           

This is going to be a really fun lesson, where we look at the different methodologies for preparing cash flow statements as well as the elements contained with in a cash flow statement. I will then show you a trick or two to remove the frustration of getting your cash flow statement to balance so we will end off with a fun practical.

Module 4, Lesson 5: Notes to the Financial Statements  

Financial statements would be quite arbitrary without the note disclosures and additional information to provide the context and extra details. This is a very interesting section of the financial statements and very bespoke for each business. We will delve into the required note disclosures according the International Financial Reporting Standards and look at checklists that can aid in ensuring the completeness of your disclosures.

Module 4, Lesson 6: Interpreting Annual Financial Statements    

Interpreting the financial statements on using the statements and note disclosures in order to draw certain conclusions at a high level. We will look at creating a checklist with steps for completing a basic analysis and interpreting the results.

Module 4, Lesson 7: Accounting ratios   

This is a part two to the interpretation of annual financial statements. In this lesson we venture back into the land of mathematics, where we utilize math to help calculate key accounting ratios in order to provide further insight into the financial health and performance of a business.

Module 4, Lesson 8: Consolidation          

A consolidation and wrap up of the concepts learnt throughout module 4 and includes a detailed walkthrough of a set of integrated annual financial statements, where you will get the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired throughout this module. To further embed your knowledge and skills we will end off with a great practical, producing a full set of financial statements including certain notes in Excel.

Leadership Training and Management Curriculum:

Key Learning Objectives:

• Team building skills
• Strategic thinking and planning
• How to better communicate and understand the approaches to take with different people
• How to better understand different personalities as a manager and leader
• How to manage and lead in difficult times

Module 1, Lesson 1: Are you a manager or leader?           

This lesson is aimed at understanding the differences between management and leadership functions. It further looks at the growth and fixed mindset models and how managers/leaders should apply these models. Finally, it explores SMART goals and why managers/leaders need to be part of the 8% of people who reach their goals.

Module 1, Lesson 2: Management competencies and why they matter   

This lesson focuses on understanding the difference between skills and competencies. It further dives into key competencies required from managers and leaders and investigates the best practices for using and developing these competencies. Finally, the lesson explores different types of leaders and well-known examples.

Module 1, Lesson 3: Why is leadership so important in the workplace?   

This lesson explores the reasons why effective leadership makes a difference to an organization. Managers and leaders need to understand the impact leadership makes and the impact of negative leadership. It further explores the key dimensions of leadership and the approaches to focus on to become successful leaders. Finally, the lesson explores how leaders can lead with resolve and humility.

Module 1, Lesson 4: What kind of leader are you?            

This lesson builds on the knowledge gained from lessons 1 to 3 and dives into different types of leadership approaches. It further explores the important differences between transactional and transformational leadership.

Module 1, Lesson 5: Key principles of leadership each leader should know            

This lesson aims to provide leaders and managers with the soft skills needed to lead teams effectively and focuses on how to be a respectful manager or leader. It further focuses on building and maintaining trust with a team, and finally, explores how managers and leaders can take responsibility and lead with courage.

Module 1, Lesson 6: Be a leader that works to create a healthy company culture

Culture is one of the most important features of an organization. This lesson focuses on providing managers and leaders with the tools needed to manage culture, the impact of culture and leadership and how to change an organization’s culture. Finally, the lesson explores the role of the leader/manager in creating a vision and mission linking to the organizational culture.

Module 1, Lesson 7: Be a leader that promotes diversity

Diversity management is a key management and leadership competency. This lesson looks at the concept of diversity and how it can be managed effectively. It further explores the challenges managers and leaders face when managing diversity and, finally, discusses diversity audits.

Module 1, Lesson 8: Leaders empower by using innovation and creativity              

This lesson explores the need for managers and leaders to understand the role of innovation and creativity in the workplace. It aims to provide managers and leaders with the skills required to promote innovation and creativity in the workplace. Finally, the lesson explores the importance of knowledge sharing and collaboration.

Module 1, Lesson 9: The reason why top leaders/manager master the art of communication        

The art of effective communication is more relevant than ever. This lesson explores the importance of communication in the work environment as well as key communication tools for managers and leaders. Finally, it investigates effective presentation skills.

Module 1, Lesson 10: How to be a leader that understand different personality types      

Managing people is key for any manager or leader. This lesson dives into the different management and leadership techniques needed to manage extroverts and introverts. The perception theory is explored to understand how managers and leaders think. Finally, the importance of bias management is outlined and discussed.         

Module 2, Lesson 1: Lead any team with confidence and strategy              

The management and leadership of teams are essential to the success of any organization. Managers and leaders need the skills to lead any team with confidence and strategy. This lesson provides tools required to better approach team management and explores delegation and team management tools.

Module 2, Lesson 2: Develop your coaching skills              

Taking control of their coaching skills is vitally important for managers and leaders. To be an effective coach, the necessary skills must be developed and practiced.  This lesson gives insight into coaching, coaching skills, and how to prepare as a coach.

Module 2, Lesson 3: Your guide to EQ and how to use persuasion             

This lesson explores the concept of emotional intelligence - exploring the difference between EQ and IQ, EQ tools and the use of persuasion. This lesson is fundamentally important for managers and leaders - one that should probably be shared with teams.

Module 2, Lesson 4: Why managers and leaders need to master the skill of conflict management

This lesson deals with conflict management, terms and approaches. It starts with the importance of conflict management, explores how to negotiate in conflict situations and how to be assertive. The lesson aims to assist new managers and leaders in understanding these concepts and help experienced managers and leaders refine their skills and approaches.

Module 2, Lesson 5: Why leaders invest in learning and development     

Learning and development is not just a task for the human resources department of an organization. Companies and employees need managers and leaders to invest in training and development, which means that leaders and managers must understand their importance and how to approach different tasks. This lesson explores building a learning culture and learning and development fundamentals.

Module 2, Lesson 6: Lead with vision, values and purpose            

This lesson explores the importance of vision, values, and purpose. It further looks at strategic alignment and how to use a company vision to build long-term purpose.

Module 2, Lesson 7: How to lead and manage the company culture          

Culture management impacts so many aspects of an organization: the employees it attracts, the performance of employees and ultimately, its profits.  Managers and leaders need to get involved in this aspect as early as possible.  This lesson explores organizational culture, barriers to change and the role of the manager and/or leader.

Module 2, Lesson 8: Employee engagement       

Organizations often fall short in the area of employee engagement - an aspect of team management that requires attention and involvement from the manager/leader.  This lesson explores several aspects related to employee engagement and provides tools to get started.  

Module 3, Lesson 1: The importance of diversity management   

Diversity management is a vitally important topic to discuss. Employees, customers, and other stakeholders look at how an organization manages and promotes inclusion and diversity. Diversity and inclusion programs are non-negotiable, and managers and leaders must become involved. This lesson provides insight and tools to approach diversity and inclusion management with confidence.

Module 3, Lesson 2: Organizational design           

Organizational design is a topic that often receives insufficient attention in management and leadership training. Managers and leaders need a basic understanding of how to set up an organization to understand the flow of communication, work, and to be in a position to identify any areas that need attention. This lesson explores the concept of organizational design and its various facets.

Module 3, Lesson 3: How to be strategic

Effective strategic thinking and planning can take any manager or leader to the next career level. This lesson investigates the tools needed to expand thought processes and planning ability and further explores efficient time management.

Module 3, Lesson 4: Invest in your career path   

Many of us feel stuck in our careers at some point. This lesson explores the concept of a career path,  creating a career plan as well as what to consider when changing a current career path.

Module 3, Lesson 5: Personal branding  

In a competitive work environment, personal branding can be a key success factor and differentiator. This lesson looks at the importance of personal branding, how to network, and how to attract the attention of organizations as potential employers.

Module 3, Lesson 6: Stress management for the workplace          

Stress is almost an accepted aspect of today's often tough employment environment. This lesson looks at the impact of stress on the body and mind and explores methods of coping with and managing stress. This lesson enables you to create a plan for your own stress management as well as workshops and coaching sessions for employees and teams.

Module 3, Lesson 7: It is all about the skills          

The fast-paced change to the labor environment (through technological and other advances) makes upskilling and reskilling of employees, managers and leaders to be fit for the future job market, vital for almost every organization.  This lesson looks at essential skills, the need for reskilling, and the skills of the future.

Module 3, Lesson 8: Build your resilience             

This final lesson of Module 3 focuses on resilience. Resilience allows individuals to overcome obstacles and grow and is something that needs to be invested in, for it to be part of an organization’s culture. This lesson explores what resilience is, how to build resilience and concludes with practical activities.              

Module 4, Lesson 1: We’re going virtual

With the changing face of the global work environment, working remotely has become the norm rather than the exception for many organizations and employees. Mastering virtual tools as managers and/or leaders is therefore non-negotiable. This lesson delves into what virtual management and leadership mean in the business world.

Module 4, Lesson 2: Team tools to use for modern managers and leaders              

Building on the discussion in the first lesson, the second lesson of Module 4 explores the importance of virtual interviews and what the onboarding process in an organization typically encompasses. Effective interview and onboarding tools and processes are vitally important in a changing environment and managers and/or leaders may require upskilling in these areas.

Module 4, Lesson 3: Remote team management

This lesson builds on the concept of onboarding, as discussed in the second lesson of Module 4. It explores virtual onboarding and how to manage different personalities online. Finally, the lesson deals with the important issue of mental health in a work environment.

Module 4, Lesson 4: Psychological safety              

Psychological safety is one of the most important aspects of a team environment - allowing a team to outperform others. It allows for the creation of an ideal work environment for employees. This lesson explores this very important concept and provides workshop examples to use with any team.

Module 4, Lesson 5: Team building tools               

Whilst team building events usually provide opportunities for social interaction between co-workers, they often miss the mark when meeting other organizational objectives. This lesson looks at planning and hosting effective team building events that will provide a greater return on investment for an organization.

Module 4, Lesson 6: Strategic awareness             

This lesson focuses on the importance of strategic awareness in the business world. It further explores the concept of strengths-based leadership and why it can be so impactful.

Module 4, Lesson 7: Adaptive leadership              

Adaptive leadership allows managers and leaders to be flexible and prepared for unexpected contingencies. This lesson focuses on adaptive leadership and builds on concepts and terms learned in previous lessons.

Module 4, Lesson 8: Scanning the environment 

This final lesson of the course focuses on how to scan the environment and explores the importance of looking for opportunities and staying ahead of competitors.

Psychology of Organizations Curriculum:

Key Learning Objectives:

• Understand what organizational psychology is, its scope of practice and its central concepts
• Gain insights into how the psychology of people impacts the way they think and behave at work
• Learn how to manage teams in the workplace
• Improve the functioning of organizations by understanding systemic issues
• Predict and debate new and exciting trends that affect organizations globally

Module 1, Lesson 1: Exploring the field  

This lesson is about giving you practical insight into what Organizational Psychology is and it's place as an applied field of Psychology. The lesson also seeks to show you that even though you may not be a Psychologist, the insights and understandings that Organizational Psychologists have about the workplace are practical and accessible to all. Lastly, this lesson will paint a practical sketch of what an Organizational Psychologist actually does, and their typical role within companies.

Module 1, Lesson 2: The changing world of work              

This lessons seeks to outline how the fields of Industrial (then becoming Organizational) psychology was born, and the kind of problems it first sought to solve. The lesson also tried to simplify and outline the key theoretical contributions of some of the fields founding fathers - and why their work was so important. Lastly, a modern view of the field is explored, and some of the more contemporary, exciting areas of work are covered to entice the student to get excited about what they could learn further.

Module 1, Lesson 3: The psychology of an employee      

Lesson three really focuses on key psychological constructs and shows how they apply to the workplace context. Without being too theoretical, the lessons aim to demonstrate why the psychology of people really impacts how employees behave and feel when they are work.

Module 1, Lesson 4: Unhappy and unhealthy workplaces              

This lesson helps the student understand the concept of pathology (or 'sickness') at work - both from a physical and a psychological perspective. It explores the way a workplace is constructed, the physical use of tools of trade and how the results of fatigue and stress all have a tangible, negative impact on employees. The lesson then looks at the emotional or psychological aspects of workplace pathology, exploring issues such as burnout and unhappiness. A current perspective is then offered on how forward-thinking organizations are using the insights and data findings of organizational psychology, to rethink how they treat their workforce and attain greater holistic health in the workplace

Module 1, Lesson 5: Finding the right employee

Lesson four delves starts the journey of looking at some key HR management processes, and connecting the expertise and findings of organizational psychology to key aspects of that. Firstly, the student is taken through the foundational concept of an employee lifecycle, and introduced to the various HR processes at each stage. The deep-dive focus is then on Recruitment, both from a sourcing and a selection perspective. The concept of psychometric testing is introduced here and explored foundationally. The lesson will then also talk about the real lessons learnt from recruitment experts, and why organizations need to get this right.

Module 1, Lesson 6: Making rocket fuel and managing performance        

Students are now introduced to the idea of Human Performance, and the never-ending need of the organization to improve workforce output. Practical processes like performance management as part of the employee lifecycle are referenced here, but the fundamental crux of this lesson is on unpacking the idea of Discretionary effort, and how organizational psychologists help businesses get that 'extra mile' from employees. Concepts like employee engagement and retention are also part of this lesson, both viewed from the lens of improving performance.

Module 1, Lesson 7: Moving the chess pieces and managing talent           

This lesson explores some of the challenges of managing people once they are in an organization, and highlights how potential is a criteria for people to be moved across and upwards in a company. The lesson also outlines practical HR processes like succession and promotion, and draws on practical case-study examples to illustrate how challenging this is for management to get right.

Module 1, Lesson 8: Coaching for performance 

Coaching is very popular in the world of work at the moment, but is also not something that is well understood or critically evaluated. Lesson eight outlines what coaching is as a performance improvement tool for organizations, and helps the student differentiate between that and other approaches. It highlights the role of the manager as coach, and also focuses on unpacking some of the common challenges of coaching for performance in leaders.

Module 2, Lesson 1: Teaming up               

Module 2, Lesson 2: Collaboration and conflict   

Lesson two explores what happens when teams start to 'storm' and why conflict occurs. Then the upside of team functioning is looked at, with ideas around collaboration and how it differs from team work. Techniques and tips for improving collaboration are reviewed, and then the idea of healthy competition is unpacked via practical, illustrative case study.

Module 2, Lesson 3: Identity at work: the need to belong              

This lesson is about connecting the idea of identify with that of being an employee and belonging to group (either within organization or organization as a whole). Examples might focus on places like the military organization or professional athletes whose work is that of team sport. Lesson will unpack how organizations make use of employee identification needs to drive loyalty and commitment. Gender will then looked at as a different kind of socially constructed identity, and how new, evolved thinking about gender identity is impacting people management processes in the workplace.

Module 2, Lesson 4: A workplace of difference  

Lesson four builds on the idea of identity, and explores how employees all bring a very different sense of who they are to the workplace. This creates diversity within teams and organizations - something which organizational psychology has been exploring and researching for the last 50 years. The lesson focuses on clarifying how broad the field is, and what some of the complexities and dynamics are that play out in diverse workforces. Students are also then talked through the opportunities and challenges of managing a diverse team.

Module 2, Lesson 5: Steering the ship    

This lesson is begins the journey of understanding Leadership for the student. It introduces the concept of Leadership and explores some practical examples of what management is versus leadership. The focus then shifts to the competencies of leaders and helps the student understand how to identify a good leader. Lastly, the Leadership Development field is introduced, and students can engage with idea of 'teaching' or developing leadership skills.

Module 2, Lesson 6: An effective captain              

Lesson six builds on lesson five, and explores various leadership style frameworks. Students will learn about common Leadership mistakes and how to avoid them. Practical examples and case studies are used to illustrate concepts, and make them real for the student. Lastly, leadership studies are widening to look at new ways of working, such as global teams who constantly work virtually, and what this demands from the leader going forward.

Module 2, Lesson 7: The dark side of leadership

This lesson shows the student the 'dark side' of people with power in organizations, and draws on the seminal work of Paul Babiak and Robert D. Hare. The student will learn about psycho-pathology in the workplace, in the form of narcissism, sociopaths and bullying.

Module 2, Lesson 8: Team building basics             

The last lesson in this module is deliberately a skills-building lesson, which seeks to teach the student how to go about thinking and potentially designing a team building intervention. It educates the student about the various types of team building interventions, their intended outcomes and how to critically evaluate whether an intervention will have the desired effect.

Module 3, Lesson 1: Power and hierarchy             

Lesson 1 explores the concepts of power in organizations and how it is used to ensure employee obedience. Students will learn about the various kinds of power and how organizational hierarchy contributes to power dynamics at work. The lesson will also help the student to understand why the role of manager carries power and what they can do to ensure that the power dynamics in the workplace are healthy.

Module 3, Lesson 2: Making the parts fit               

Organizations are effectively individuals organized in a particular way to do specific tasks in a specific way. The design of the organization, in terms of job, levels, teams and outputs is vital to how effectively the business functions. Many organizations have great people in them, but they are poorly organized, and so getting the best out of them is challenging. This lesson unpacks the fundamentals of Org Design, and teaches the student how to analyze the structure of an organization, and identify the impact of people.

Module 3, Lesson 3: The way we do things around here 

The focus of module 3 as a whole is on looking at the organization as an ecosystem, meaning seeing the workplace as inter-connected to the environment, context and social landscape within which it operates, and being molded by those. Lesson one of Module three is focused on organizational Culture, and explores all how culture is formed in an organization, and what can be done to change it.

Module 3, Lesson 4: Shifting sands and managing change              

Organizational change management is a vast topic on its own, and lesson three looks to lay a foundation of understanding of where this field came from and why it is important to organizations. The lesson will explain how change affects organizations and why it is important to manage change in a proactive way. Human resistance to change is also explored, and the psychology of why is outlined.

Module 3, Lesson 5: I am not a robot: the impact of technology 

This lesson is focused on how workplaces and work forces have adapted to the rapidly accelerated pace of technology. The Digital Age has created new roles, shifted the way people work in traditional ones and forced employees to take on new skills at a faster rate than ever before. This lesson will unpack this and explore some of the psychological responses to technology, and the development like AI and automation that have resulted from this.

Module 3, Lesson 6: A shift in focus: work life balance, flexibility and new working practices          

This lessons looks at traditional views of how people should work and be managed, and how they have evolved over time. It shows how the needs of employees around time. physical location and the view of home life has shifted, and organizations need to respond differently. This is major implications for productivity, morale and culture. The lesson will show the balancing act for companies between being progressive and supportive of employee needs, but also maintaining control and a grip on productivity.

Module 3, Lesson 7: Unpacking the Layers           

Organizational Effectiveness is a specialization in the applied field of org psych that looks at the overall state of the organization, and seeks for ways to make it more effective - from a systems thinking angle. This lesson will explore this area and teach the student some practical ways of diagnosing organizational issues, and how to go about addressing them.

Module 3, Lesson 8: The learning organization

Lesson 8 is the culmination of many ideas and concepts covered in Module 3. It outlines the seminal work of Peter Senge, and his ideas about Learning Organizations. The lesson provides both an academic , theoretical perspective on what it means for organizations to self-transform, but is also a practical application of ideas and principles that are key to the systemic view of organizational effectiveness.      

Module 4, Lesson 1: The employee experience (EX) and why it matters   

Improving the employee experience is something many organizations are focused on today, because they realize that improving the day to day lives of their own people always results in improved productivity, performance and customer satisfaction. This lesson unpacks what EX is and what it matters, and provides practical guidelines of how to build a compelling employee value proposition.

Module 4, Lesson 2: Ethics in organizations         

Lesson two focuses on another fascinating area of organizations, which spans many disciplines such as law, sociology and psychology - that of ethics. This lesson looks at some famous case studies where there have been ethical failures, and explores why that is. The student will then unpack the psychological processes that an employee goes through in order to make an ethical decision, and will walk away with some practical guidelines and tips about supporting ethics in the workplace.

Module 4, Lesson 3: HR of the future: new jobs, new skills            

The HR function effectively owns the processes and practices that are intended to manage the human asset in any workforce. Given that people are often the most valuable (and sometimes most expensive) asset in any organization’s book, the HR function is of vital importance. And yet, this is often seen as a 'support' unit and their work undervalued or under-invested. This lesson looks at the key skills of HR today, and then predicts the kind of roles and competencies HR will need for the future.

Module 4, Lesson 4: Pop psychology and its place in business

Lesson 4 dives into the area of popular psychology, and specifically, popular theories of personality and leadership in the workplace. The intention of the lesson is to explain to the student what the difference is between formal social science and popular theories. Practical examples will illustrate the ideas for the student, and the intention is to equip the student with the ability to differentiate and critically evaluate the many pop psych theories out there - especially those that relate to self-help and management.

Module 4, Lesson 5: We never saw it coming

The impact of the Corona virus on the world of work has probably been the most dramatic since the invention of computers. So what have we learnt about employees and employers through this pandemic? Lesson 5 discusses issues such as virtual working, employee loneliness, work from home fatigue and trauma all using the COVID impact as a real-life case study. The intention of the lesson is to show how employment practices and skill needs of various organizations can quickly be changed when a once-in-a-lifetime event unexpectedly occurs.

Module 4, Lesson 6: Innovation in organizations

Innovation is a very hot topic in all industries as organizations seek to gain a competitive edge at every turn. But what is innovation and how do you spot an employee who might be good at it? Lesson seven explore the challenges of innovating in organizations, and why many companies just aren't geared towards to new ideas.

Module 4, Lesson 7: Positive psychology at work               

Positive psychology is a particular way of seeing the individual and the social world. This lesson explores its main tenets and looks at how these can be applied in organizations. Many organizational psychologists are using a positive psychology approach to their work, and the intention of this lesson is to provide insight for the student as to how this is possible, and why it might be useful.

Module 4, Lesson 8: Hot topics and trends in the workplace today            

Lesson 8 is the final lesson of module 4, and it is deliberately intended to pull together many of the ideas, concepts and interesting debates already covered it the course. The lesson is a review of the current hot topics and trends in both the organizational psychology field, and in the workplaces of today. It will look at debates and concerns that workplaces and organizational psychologists are trying to resolve currently, as well as look to the future and predict what challenges lie ahead for employees, companies and leadership.

Sales Curriculum:

Key Learning Objectives:

• Gain competence and confidence in the fundamentals of sales
• Become a natural at building and managing professional relationships
• How to drive outcome-based meetings and deliver powerful pitches and presentations
• Become competent in effective competitive analysis, time management and buyer personas
• Techniques for selling to the modern customer in the digital era

Module 1, Lesson 1: What makes a good sales person?  

This lesson will introduce you to a brief history of sales, with examples of different types of salespeople and a deeper dive into what makes a good salesperson. You will learn about a few of the fundamental soft skills, as well as be introduced to the psychology of selling. We’ll also look at the typical hard skills, such as prospecting, cold calling and networking, and why they are key for selling. At the end of this lesson you will reach an understanding of the typical skills required to become a salesperson, as well as identify soft skills that you can work towards mastering.

Module 1, Lesson 2: The role of Sales     

This lesson focuses on the important role of sales within a business or organization. You will learn about the different types of business models, sales success stories and a few failed launches, but why failure is an option and how you can learn from them. At the end of this lesson you will understand typical business models and why sales is a key element to any business’ success. You will also understand typical activities of a salesperson, where to build alliances and  how to find a mentor.

Module 1, Lesson 3: Become the hero of your own story

Understanding your products and your customers are key to the success of sales, even more so - is identifying your personal brand. The brand of “you”, thrown together with positive thinking and determination, could lead you to becoming a sales superstar! This is what you will learn about in this lesson, and more! At the end of this lesson you will understand why great personal brands make for great entrepreneurs, and how to build on your product knowledge.

Module 1, Lesson 4: Hitting the (bench)mark

In this lesson you will learn about the value of doing competitor analysis, why you should keep an eye on your competitors and how to assess- their strengths versus your own. , We also look at why keeping up to date with industry trends is very important and provide some tips and tricks on how to analyze industry trends. At the end of this lesson you will be able to conduct a thorough competitor analysis and identify industry trends that get you “ahead of the rest”.

Module 1, Lesson 5: Bring your KPI to the NBTO

This lesson will teach you about sales terminology, as we cover a whole range of other business acronyms. You will also learn about the sales cycle, various sales methodologies and how to use certain steps in the process to your advantage. At the end of this lesson you will understand the sales industry acronyms and understand the typical sales cycle.

Module 1, Lesson 6: Understanding your target audience             

In this lesson we will explore how to identify your target audience and segment prospects into general buyer personas. We also learn drive lead acquisition, qualify leads that fit the buyer persona and our ideal customer profile. . At the end of this lesson you will be able to develop buyer personas, targeted research and qualify leads according to your ideal customer profile.

Module 1, Lesson 7: The "Numbers Game"          

We learn what pipeline management is, why it’s important and what a good pipeline will consist of. We are also going to learn about conversion rates, why it’s important and how to measure your own conversion rate for continuous improvement. We also look at setting expectations around your pipeline, between you, your team and your manager. At the end of this lesson you will be able to implement pipeline management techniques, set and manage expectations around them, and understand your success rate.

Module 1, Lesson 8: One day I want to...               

This lesson will introduce you to the SWOT analysis methodology and how to identify your own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. You will learn about personal and professional goal setting , for short and long term career planning.. At the end of this lesson you will be able to conduct a high-level SWOT analysis, and be able to strategically set both personal and professional goals for career development.

Module 1, Lesson 9: Be a CLOSER             

In this lesson you will learn what a typical buying cycle looks like, how to track where your customer is in their buying cycle and assess any potential objections. You will also learn how to effectively handle those objections to instill confidence in your customer and the deal. We also dive into the techniques behind delivering a powerful presentation and aiming to get the verbal commitment after presenting. At the end of this lesson you will learn how to effectively present your solution or product, handle objections, negotiate and close.

Module 1, Lesson 10: Busting Myths, a quick Sales Hack, and overall summary of M1        

This lesson will expand on some of the concepts that you’ve learnt throughout the module, examining hard and soft skills to master, the psychological aspects to selling, the importance of sales to any business, creating a positive sales environment as well as some not-so-obvious tips to finding good leads.

Module 2, Lesson 1: The Psychology of sales: Asking Questions and building rapport         

We look at the various levels of rapport, pacing before leading. And we also explain why sales should never be about manipulation, but taking a genuine & sincere interest in your customer.

Module 2, Lesson 2: Sales in the 21st Century    

Our customers have changed, which means that our approach also needs to change. In this lesson, we first look at what exactly has changes our sales environment, then we cover social prospecting and social selling, and other new techniques to help you connect with the customer of today.

Module 2, Lesson 3: It's sales o'clock       

We take a look at what sales-centric technologies are available to us today. We also take a look at ways to better manage your time and productivity

Module 2, Lesson 4: 1-Hit Wonder vs Sales Superstar

The most effective salespeople are consistent salespeople. Ensuring you have a "good mix" of prospects, small quick wins through to long-term larger wins. Learn more about pipeline management, and how it impacts other aspects such as forecasting and conversion.

Module 2, Lesson 5: Building Alliances   

Aligning with both internal influencers and prospective influencers and decision makers. working with fellow sales teams to strengthen your approach and building credibility with colleagues and customers

Module 2, Lesson 6: Understanding your customer & their journey          

Understanding customer personas, their buying journey, and where you could find common ground to create a connection.

Module 2, Lesson 7: Become a meeting pro         

Meeting etiquette, setting agendas and expectations, asking all the right questions, and working towards pre-defined outcomes/goals for every meeting. In this lesson, we cover all aspects of running successful and professional meetings with your internal teams, as well as with prospects and customers.

Module 2, Lesson 8: Crafting the perfect pitch    

How to sell the value, address the needs of your prospect, and tell a story to help prospects visualize the future.

Module 3, Lesson 1: Become your prospect's go-to          

Let's take a look at how to become the "go-to" for your customer. We'll cover strategic rapport and credibility building techniques.

Module 3, Lesson 2: Nurturing through the customer journey     

In this lesson, we'll cover the customer journey roadmap, and how this ties into the overall customer experience - from the start of the sales cycle. We dive into how to better nurture leads.

Module 3, Lesson 3: The psychology of sales       

Let's take a deeper look into the Psychology of the salesperson, and the psychology of our customers.

Module 3, Lesson 4: Confidence is king, and so is self-improvement         

Learn how to continuously up skill and motivate yourself and build new confidence through the "small wins".

Module 3, Lesson 5: Presenting to the C-Suites  

Psychology of sales: reading body language and picking up on cues, what to push and what not to push with team of C-Suites. Be prepared for any objections.

Module 3, Lesson 6: Becoming a change catalyst

Here, we take a deeper dive into 2 of the more strategic selling approaches, and becoming a "thought leader" in your industry.

Module 3, Lesson 7: Write it up!

Tips on how to write fantastic emails, documents and proposals. Deeper dive into what should be in a proposal.

Module 3, Lesson 8: Working smarter before you work harder    

Learn how to up-sell, cross-sell, shorten sales cycles and obtain referrals.

Module 4, Lesson 1: Mastering the experience  

In this lesson, we'll take a deep-dive into one of the world's fastest growing focal points - Customer Experience. We take a look at what why it is important and what it entails. We also cover a few more aspects around the customer journey.

Module 4, Lesson 1: Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0

What does the past, current and future state of sales look like? We cover aspects of Industry 4.0 to consider when planning your sales strategy.

Module 4, Lesson 1: Selling Globally        

Selling into new cultures, selling to multiple stakeholders, we'll take an overall look at how to approach a new market.

Module 4, Lesson 2: Enhancing customer centricity          

Let's take a deeper dive into digital and social selling to meet the needs of the modern customer, as well as using data to improve your sales.

Module 4, Lesson 3: Strategic selling, pipeline management, and closing

Advanced lead acquisition and qualification, advanced pipeline management as well as preparing for the biggest pitch of your life!

Module 4, Lesson 4: Introduction to Sales Partnerships  

What types of sales partnerships are there, what needs to be in place and why are they worth considering.

Module 4, Lesson 5: Introduction to sales enablement, leadership & strategy (part 1)       

We take a look at the dynamics of sales enablement, and how to effectively enable your team to perform smarter and more successfully. We introduce you to the life of a good sales leader, and best practices & insight to developing a winning sales strategy.

Module 4, Lesson 6: Introduction to sales enablement, leadership & strategy (part 2)       

We take a look at the dynamics of sales enablement, and how to effectively enable your team to perform smarter and more successfully. We introduce you to the life of a good sales leader, and best practices & insight to developing a winning sales strategy.

Mini MBA in Business Curriculum:

Key Learning Objectives:

• Business theory, foundational concepts, tools, models and frameworks
• How to create a personal elevator pitch
• How to create a strategic marketing plan using the 7Ps of marketing model
• Corporate legislation

Module 1, Lesson 1: Strategy I: Business Strategy Basics 

At the end of this lesson, you will review the full course overview & understand the components that make up this course. Identify the types of businesses, entities, the three business contexts and the purpose of business. Recognize the purpose and components of a business strategy and strategic plan. Understand the business context using Porter's 5 Forces model which is a situational analysis to determine the business context. Complete a personal elevator pitch.

Module 1, Lesson 2: Marketing I: The Exciting World of Marketing            

By the end of this lesson, students will Explain using examples your understanding of important concepts in marketing. Understand strategic marketing & value creation. Practical outcome: Create a strategic marketing plan using the 7P’s of marketing: decision-making model

Module 1, Lesson 3: Economics I: Perspectives in economics       

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to: Understand the definition & branches of economics; and Explain rational choice & key concepts in economics. Practical outcome: Construct the Production possibility curve based on your understanding of key concepts

Module 1, Lesson 4: Accounting I: Accounting fundamentals       

At the end of the this lesson Students will - Correctly identify the various types of accounting concepts and financial transactions of a business - Categorize transactions using the accounting equation - Understand the common language of accounting and global practices

Module 1, Lesson 5: Supply chain management I: The Marvelous World of Supply Chain & Operations Management

By the end of this lesson, students will: Describe key concepts in supply chain management, and Explain the strategic role of SCM using the 3 stages of operational planning. Practical outcome: Application of the SCOR model

Module 1, Lesson 6: Strategic human resource management I: Human Capital intrinsic    

By the end of this lesson, students will  Understand key concepts in the field of human resources. Identify the three roles of the human resources department. Explain the strategic role of human resources, their deliverables and their metrics. Practical outcome: HR measurement metrics for certain deliverables in the employee life cycle

Module 1, Lesson 7: Information systems I: Information System Fundamentals   

At the end of this lesson, students will - Identify the types of information systems, - Recognize the five primary components of information systems, and- Explain why information systems are a business imperative.

Module 1, Lesson 8: Leadership, Ethics, Governance & Law I         By the end of this lesson, students will Understand important concepts in Leadership Identify and apply different leadership styles for different contexts. Identify the qualities or traits of effective leaders . Practical outcome: Identify their own leadership style and create a plan to become a more effective leader

Module 2, Lesson 1: Strategy II: Business Analysis Basics

In this lesson, you will  - Recap business strategy intrinsic - Refresh your knowledge of the strategic planning approach/cycle - Deepen your knowledge of strategic planning in the area of environmental scanning  - Undertake a strategic planning exercise by constructing a business SWOT analysis

Module 2, Lesson 2: Marketing II: The Compelling World of Marketing    

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to: - Recap their understanding of strategic marketing - Identify the key elements of the marketing plan - Revise certain elements of the marketing mix Practical outcome - Deepen their knowledge in strategy development 'product' & 'place' in the marketing mix, by learning how to apply the Ansoff matrix.

Module 2, Lesson 3: Economics II: Microeconomics          

Students will be able to -Identify the focus of the sub-field of Microeconomics. Understand the concepts marginal utility, elasticity and equilibrium and explain their effect on supply and demand. Examine demand and know how to read, analyze and interpret demand using a graph. Examine supply and know how to read, analyze and interpret supply using a graph

Module 2, Lesson 4: Accounting II: Interpreting the Income Statement   

This lesson includes: - An introduction to financial statements & key concepts - Learn to locate and identify an income statement  - Learn how to examine and interpret an income statement.

Module 2, Lesson 5: Supply chain management II             

In this lesson, students will: Recap supply chain basics. Learn to identify the six supply chain orientation models. Understand the three important flows in supply chain management. Observe best practices from globally recognized leaders in supply chain management.

Module 2, Lesson 6: Strategic Human Resource Management II - Organizational Culture 

In this lesson, students will: Recap the employee life cycle and the jobs of HR. Deepen their understanding of organizational culture. Learn the principles and dimensions of culture to enhance employee centricity & performance using the Hofstede and Trompenaar models of culture

Module 2, Lesson 7: Big Data      

At the end of this lesson, students will  1. Understand the importance of technology and its data component 2. Understand the classification & processing of data 3. Examine the applications, advantages & challenges of big data

Module 2, Lesson 8: Leadership, Ethics, Governance & Law II       

At the end of this lesson, students should: 1. Understand the importance, basic principles and key concepts in corporate governance 2. Identify the pillars of corporate governance 3. Examine business case studies in the domain of corporate governance to understand governance failures

All necessary course materials are included.

• Cable and DSL internet connections are recommended for the best experience.

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 2 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone (Webinar / Live Online sessions)

• Microsoft Windows 7 or 10 (Home, Pro)
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is denoted in the above course outline.