Drawing a path

In this course, you have been exposed to the management process from beginning to end. You learned how to set goals, objectives and metrics to measure their success. You learned how to develop a plan and strategy to achieve these goals, and you learned about the decision-making process that ensures the organization has enough flexibility to adjust along the way to unpredictable events. These tasks are at the core of what managers do every day.

To complete the course, you will need to complete a series of interrelated challenges to put the skills you have acquired into practice using the WorldCom case study you read earlier. After you complete each challenge, you will be invited to publish a short blog post so you can share your work with your classmates and exchange feedback. Below is a list of the challenges with the outputs you need to produce.

Summary of learning challenges

You can choose to complete the challenges one by one, after the appropriate learning pathway, or you may choose to complete them all at the end of the course.

Learning challenge Relevant skills Outcomes
Setting goals, objectives and measures
  • Analytical skills
  • Ability to differentiate between goals, objectives and measures
  • Ability to identify unrealistic/poorly defined objectives
  • Ability to define an objective out of a set of goals

A set of goals, objectives and metrics.

Planning and strategy
  • Analytical skills
  • Ability to differentiate between planning and strategy
  • Synthesizing skills

A roadmap for managers and employees to follow.

Decision-making
  • Analytical skills
  • Ability to identify poor decisions
  • Ability to select the appropriate decision in a particular context

A series of decisions in reaction to specific events.

Managing the unknown
  • Analytical skills
  • Ability for abstract thinking
  • Flexibility to adapt to future changes

A series of principles to live by in order to be ready for the unpredictability of the future.