Be a public management leader

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If you hope to climb to the top of your career, chances are good that you will end up involved with management. Whatever the field or industry, be it engineering, accounting, sales, mining, government or any number of other fields, as you rise to the top of your industry, your job involves less of the actual skills that got you there. Life at the top is far more about managing others to do the same work you used to do. This is why online management courses can be hugely beneficial to advance your career.

While management responsibilities can be frightening for some, these managerial skills can be learnt. Better yet, with an online course, you can acquire these skills and a qualification while continuing to work. In this article, we will look at how to study a management course online and answer some questions you may be asking yourself, such as what is the best course for management or what is the best online business course? We’ll look at online management courses in South Africa and cover some of the best online management courses.

We’ll also cover a range of different online management course specialisations that you can study, such as:

Best Online Management Courses in 2021

Forbes published a list of the top 10 best online MBAs in June 2021, compiled by higher education ranking company QS, based in England.

The list is as follows:

  • Imperial College Business School (London, England)
  • Warwick Business School (Coventry and London, England)
  • Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales Business School (Sydney, Australia)
  • Alliance Manchester Business School (Manchester, England)
  • Politecnico di Milano School of Management (Milan, Italy)
  • Indiana University (Kelley Direct Programs), (Bloomington, Indiana)
  • University of Southern California (Marshall) (Los Angeles, California)
  • Vlerick Business School (Ghent, Belgium)
  • Florida International University (Miami, Florida)

Unsurprisingly, no South African, or even African institutions make it onto this global top 10. In fact, some have commented that there is an English, as well as the US and European bias as no Asian or South American institutions, make it onto the list either. This does not however mean that local courses are not worthwhile. Those 10 courses represent a minute fraction of the world’s business schools and the many management courses available. If you can easily afford the £41,350 it costs to study at the Imperial College Business School at the time of writing, or have the opportunity to study at one of these global leaders, then we say go for it and best of luck.

For the vast majority of people though, a local course will be a far more practical solution. There are also alternatives to an MBA that can be studied in quicker time frames, at lower costs and that can also be done with fewer years of work experience. The Wits School of Governance’s Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (PDBA), for example, is more accessible, while still covering many of the same subjects and skills that make MBAs so appealing.

Top Distance Learning in Risk Management Courses

Risk management is the job of assessing and mitigating risk in an organisation. As a risk manager, it is your job to manage financial uncertainties and ensure the company is not placed at undue risk from external factors like fluctuations in currency or commodity prices.

To become a risk manager, the minimum you will need is a bachelor’s degree, preferably in finance, accounting, economics or business administration. If you would like to advance far in your field, then it is advisable to have a postgraduate level qualification.

If you are looking to study risk management online, there are many options to choose from. Studying online has many benefits, including being able to study from anywhere in the world. As well as being able to choose to study at institutions around the world, there are also many different course offerings to choose from within risk management.

As mentioned, the main fields for risk management are finance, accounting, economics and business administration. A postgraduate degree in any of these fields would open up career opportunities for risk managers. However, employers are likely to prefer degrees that have more of a managerial and business administration focus that brings together all the complexities of risk management rather than something specialising in a more narrow role, such as accounting.

The Wits School of Governance’s PDBA has a module on project management that will also teach you management techniques and skills, including how to assess and plan for risk.

Top Online Project Management Programmes

Project managers are responsible for planning and coordinating a team towards achieving a common goal or objective.

To pursue a career in project management, a bachelor’s degree is preferred as well as several years of work experience in that particular field. The role of a project manager can vary immensely depending on the type of project. For example, it would be best for an experienced civil engineer to be the project manager in charge of a large engineering project such as the construction of a dam.

For this reason, qualifications and work experience in that field would be beneficial. There are also courses and programmes that focus specifically on project management

The Wits School of Governance’s PDBA has a module on project management, which focuses on project management techniques and equips candidates with skills and techniques for effectively managing a project or working on a project team.

Leadership and Management Courses

There are many leadership and management courses to choose from to pick up these skills – from short courses of just a few weeks to far longer and more involved postgraduate programmes.

Depending on your situation, a short course may be sufficient to give you the skills and confidence to step into a management position. For others though, a more rounded course might be better. While leadership and management are important, they are not skills that should exist in a vacuum. To efficiently manage a company or organisation it helps to have a thorough understanding of how a business operates on all levels.

The Wits School of Governance’s PDBA has a module on people management including labour that includes management skills and leadership principles training. It also covers other elements of running a business, such as marketing, business law, strategy, financial accounting and business economics, among others.

If you already have a bachelor’s degree and want to accelerate your management career, you can apply for the Wits School of Governance’s online Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (PDBA). The PDBA is a 22-month programme if done part-time to balance work and study, but can be completed sooner if studying full-time and completing two modules at a time.

If you are more interested in a career in government or public administration in the NGO sector, then the 12-month Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management (PDPM) at the Wits School of Governance is a great fit.

Should either appeal to you, then check out the PDPM course fees or the PDBA course fees and apply right now to begin your studies within the next two months. There is also financial assistance available for all of Wits’ online programmes, which you can enquire about from your enrolment specialist once you have applied.