You’ll be welcomed to the course and begin connecting with fellow participants, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.

You’ll be required to complete your participant profile, confirm your email address for the delivery of your digital certificate, and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.

Evaluate the most effective persuasion tactics and principles to influence a business situation.

• Discuss the significance of lateral and upward influence compared to downward influence
• Apply the three categories of influence tactics, and the possible outcomes of an influence attempt, to a given situation
• Choose the most appropriate influence tactic to produce a desired outcome
• Apply the principles of persuasion to a given situation
• Distinguish between the bases of informal power, and recognise how non-verbal behaviour can increase informal power
• Select the most appropriate channel of communication to use in the workplace, given a set of circumstances
• Decide which influence techniques to use in a workplace situation of your choice, and justify your decision

Understand the key economic principles and market forces that affect business.

• Define economics and managerial economics
• Identify the factors that influence the shape and movements of an industry demand curve
• Identify the different types of firm costs
• Discuss the impact of marginal cost and marginal revenue on profit maximisation
• Discuss the factors that influence the shape and movements of an industry supply curve
• Illustrate how changes in the demand or supply of a product will influence the market clearing price of the product
• Investigate strategies managers can use to determine the shape of their company’s demand curve
• Evaluate the effect of government intervention on suppliers and consumers in a competitive market

Explain why firms need to gain a competitive advantage, and how to create this advantage.

• Identify the measures that can be used to determine a company’s performance
• Interpret a company’s strategy in relation to its business objectives
• Interpret the concepts of value creation and value capture
• Articulate the complexities involved in defining an industry
• Evaluate the sources of value creation and value capture as means to gain competitive advantage
• Predict possible threats to a firm’s ability to capture value, and how incumbent firms might react to these threats

Discover how companies can grow and expand their business activities.

• Define the value chain
• Articulate the concepts of vertical integration and contract incompleteness
• Apply the arguments made for and against vertical integration to a real-world decision
• Recognise the concepts of economies of scope and horizontal expansion
• Apply the arguments made for and against horizontal expansion to a real-world decision
• Evaluate the appropriateness of a company’s decision to diversify

Explore the principles of accounting to improve your financial expertise.

• Recognise the difference between financial accounting and management accounting
• Identify the users of financial information and their particular needs
• Identify the different types of businesses and their accounting considerations
• Discuss the relevance of accounting conventions when preparing accounts
• Complete an income statement and statement of financial position based on information provided
• Apply your knowledge of the statement of cash flows to practical examples
• Calculate basic financial statement ratios

Explore the use of financial tools to make better business decisions.

• Calculate break-even point, contribution margin, target profit and margin of safety
• Apply the principle of marginal costing to a business situation
• Articulate the challenges faced by a business during the budgeting process
• Articulate the use of different costing methods to improve a business’s performance
• Calculate the rates of return of different investment opportunities
• Select the best investment opportunity to pursue based on capital budgeting calculations

Learn how to analyse financial statements to identify problem areas.

• Recognise the importance of financial reporting, the regulatory framework, and standard setting
• Discuss the qualitative characteristics of financial statements
• Apply your knowledge of annual financial reports to a real-life example
• Calculate and interpret advanced financial ratios
• Identify the limitations of ratio analysis
• Explain the impact of management pressure on the accuracy of financial statements
• Analyse the financial statements of a business, determining its financial performance
• Recommend ways in which companies and shareholders can mitigate the risk of fraud and misrepresentation in financial statements

Discover techniques for minimising bias in judgements about people and finances in the workplace.

• Recognise the difference between a heuristic and a bias
• Identify the three fundamental heuristics and biases, and situations in which these may occur
• Discuss the main biases that occur when making judgements about people, or financial judgements
• Identify the techniques used to de-bias
• Apply the most appropriate de-biasing technique to a given bias
• Apply your knowledge of heuristics and biases in a novel context of your choice

Learn how to influence your peers and the decisions made by consumers.

• Define the concept of nudging
• Recall the six nudging techniques
• Discuss the ethical implications of nudging
• Describe real-world instances where nudging is prevalent
• Identify the choice architecture evident during your own purchases, and the influence it has on your decisions
• Show how, if you were a supplier, you would design and display your products to make the consumer’s choice easier
• Justify why the design and display of products in a particular way may lead to an increase in sales

Explore when culture change might be necessary to meet strategic objectives.

• Recall the general characteristics of culture
• Identify the relationship between culture and leadership
• Articulate the underlying complexities and multi-layered nature of culture
• Illustrate the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of a strong organisational culture and subcultures
• Identify the phases of cultural change in an organisation
• Analyse how and when to use the levers required for cultural change in an organisation
• Recommend a course of action to initiate cultural change, and justify your recommendations